"The Lisbon agenda was very ambitious, with the goal of getting R&D [research and development] to 3%, looking at how the top universities can get the right R&D funding, and the increase in funding for a broad set of research activities, we are very excited to see that," he said in his keynote address. "We think that this is pushing things in the right direction, so that Europe can get its share of these great advances and participate in a very, very strong way."

Microsoft already invests heavily in research in Europe, and the company recently opened a new R&D centre in Portugal and has extended its cooperation with leading computer science centres in several European universities. Microsoft's research centres are also active in a number of European research projects, something which Mr Gates describes as having worked out very well for the company.

"We try and be an example, a real evangelist for companies in industry and research," Mr Gates commented. "We think that that has been our very best investment. The reason we have got a strong future is because we did that research."

Attending the event, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen noted that innovation was a major priority for his country's presidency of the EU. "Innovation is high on our political agenda, both for Finland and for the EU," he commented. "My close personal involvement as Prime Minister sends a strong signal that innovation and development of the information society are important priorities for the government and for the state."

Mr Vanhanen encouraged companies to get involved in joint research platforms, noting that these could be eligible for funding under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) as Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs).

"They [JTIs] are a practical new way of improving our research performance and driving the whole process more from the private sector, which has been one great weakness in European innovation policy until now," he said. "With technology platforms, it is companies, not civil servants or committees, that identify promising areas."

European Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik also attended the event, and delivered a speech on information and communications technologies (ICT). "For me, ICTs are about empowerment," he said. "Noting that with ICTs, people could find information at the click of a button, communicate from anywhere and project their own ideas and values."

According to the Commissioner, ICT is a field of research that can teach us quite a few good lessons for research overall. "It shows that technology can be an enabler, promoting and aiding developments in a wide range of fields," he said.

"The ICT sector shows the value in investing in long-term, frontier research... What the ICT sector also teaches us is that a long term vision should be about providing society with research that corresponds to its needs," he added.

For further information, please visit:
http://www.euinnovationday.com/

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