General Assembly 26

InnovaWood General Assembly participants, 5 May 2026

InnovaWood General Assembly: focus on exchange

Networking is the framework for the entire Assembly, and we designed every format to be an active exchange. Whether through the Speed networking, Research Pitches, Poster Hall, or the Power of Questions – the focus was always on keeping up the dialogue on wood research in a changing world, direct discussion of hot topics and better understanding each other’s work.

This spirit of dialogue was emphasized through the World Café, where participants sat in small groups to talk about the future of the European wood sector – from AI to talent development, creating a space where everyone’s perspective helped map the strategic directions of our community.

Conversations continued through the visits to laboratories of BOKU and Holzforschung Austria, the gardens of Tulln and wood construction sites, reflecting a shared interest in wood research, innovation, and education.

Policy, research and industry insights

This year’s assembly centered on resource efficiency: exploring innovative wood transformation technologies, the valorisation of underused wood resources, and the potential of carbon-negative wood products.

Keynote speakers left to right: Georg Rappold, Christian Hansmann, Wolfgang Gindl-Altmutter, Johannes Konnerth, Veronika Auer,  Sarah Mubareka

The keynote presentations addressed resource efficiency from three different perspectives:

• Policy & Strategy: Georg Rappold,  Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management, Austria​ presented Austrian initiatives and the international Wood Policy Platform as mechanisms to strengthen cooperation across regional, European, and global levels. Sarah Mubareka, JRC Joint Research Centre  framed resource efficiency within the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and highlighted the need for a prioritisation of ecosystem regeneration.

• Research: Christian Hansmann, Wood K Plus and Wolfgang Gindl-Altmutter, Wood K Plus / BOKU presented  Austria’s research and education landscape while addressing critical challenges like climate adaptation and the balance between forest preservation and utilization. Johannes Konnerth, Institute for Wood Technology and Renewable Materials BOKU, demonstrated that resource efficiency is a dynamic concept dependent on the specific material, product, and value chain stage, and called for new processing concepts that integrate low-quality hardwoods, side streams, and underused fractions.

• Industry: Veronika Auer, Egger presented the industrial viewpoint on wood use between technology, market, and industrial reality, and highlighted existing solutions for lower-quality wood.

InnovaWood activities report

In his report, Uwe Kies, Secretary General of InnovaWood, summarised the previous year’s activities, projects, and outcomes and provided a perspective for the following years. View the Innovawood report here.

Secretariat: The team has continued to grow in recent years and currently comprises 11 employees. Without further expanding the team, the focus is now on individual professional development and strengthening internal coordination to making full use of the team’s diverse expertise.

Network and membership: With 85 member organisations across 30 countries, InnovaWood has developed into a truly pan-European network for wood research, innovation and education. The growing membership remains well balanced with universities (40%), research and technology organisations (35%), complemented by clusters and other stakeholder organisations.. Welcome to InnovaWood network to:

• Manifaktura SRL, Italy
• GVA – National Reference Centre for Wood and Cork Processing and Installation, LABORA Vocational Training Centre, Spain
• Holzforschung Austria, Austria
• CMD – Galician Wood and Design Cluster, Spain
• WoodWorks Cluster, Norway
• FING-UDELAR – Faculty of Engineering, University of the Republiс, Multidisciplinary Timber Research Group, Uruguay

New members posters are available in the resource section below. The full list of InnovaWood members is available here.

EU projects and proposals: Following a peak in project activity in 2022, InnovaWood is currently involved in 10 ongoing European projects. Over the last years IW has built a strong expertise in the role of project communication, dissemination and stakeholder engagement all the way to Brussels, feeding project results back to the European Commission in the form of policy conferences, briefs and recommendations. Looking ahead, IW aims to take on a more prominent role in project research, innovation and education-related activities, while continuing to connect members and connecting wood research and innovation to the industry and society. Recent examples include:

• SMURF, which is mobilizing small forest owners across Europe and culminated in a successful conference in Rome in 2025

• WoodStock, which strengthens links between the wood and construction sectors through innovative uses of underutilised wood resources

• New project Francesca advancing the circular economy initiatives in the furniture sector,

• EcoReFibre, which delivered a Strategic Roadmap and high-level policy dialogue event while engaging a large number of InnovaWood members,

• New European Bauhaus Academy with high level visibility is creating new opportunities for skill development and collaboration

Member services: InnovaWood continues to expand the portfolio of internal tools and member services that create synergies across EU projects and make knowledge more accessible across the network, including Circular Economy meeting series, EU Funding Navigator, Policy Navigator, Innovative Products Database, EU Technical Standards Mapping, Events Calendar, and others.

Summary: InnovaWood has grown into a strong and visible European network. We are refining our member services, building internal knowledge through synergies between our projects, policy activities, and member-driven initiatives, and we are effectively using our core approach – Connect, Share, and Influence – to be a recognised voice for research and innovation in European wood sector advocacy.

InnovaWood Board members and staff left to right: Uwe Kies and Mike Burnard; Oliver Jancke; Visnja Koscak; Chris de Roock; Riccardo Castellini; Erik Larnoy; Ana Cosp Garcia, Uwe Kies and Vanesa Baño; Vanesa Baño and Riccardo Castellini

Site and research visits

The event had a packed schedule of sites and laboratory visits. Participants explored how wood is changing our urban landscapes: from the high-rise wood construction of HoHo Wien and the urban development of Seestadt Aspern to innovative owner-implemented projects like Gleis 21  and current construction sites at Village im Dritten.

We also saw that the wood sector is doing some very exciting work in science today. At Wood K Plus / BOKU young researchers presented end-of-life wood construction, structurally coloured cellulose-based coatings, superhydrophobic surfaces, wood applications for space, and fire-resistant timber façades.

We wrapped up Day 3 at Holzforschung Austria, exploring the printed electronics on wood, nature-based coatings, wood preservation activities systems and circular economy structural testing.

Executive Board

Mike Burnard and Visnja Koscak have been confirmed by vote as President and Vice President for their second terms of two years of the General Assembly 2026.

Dobrochna Augustyniak-Wysocka is leaving the Board after four years and we gladly thank her for her commitment. The Executive Board is confirmed with six members for 2026/2027.

We look forward to seeing the conversations and partnerships from Tulln continue to develop and invite you to save the date for the next General Assembly in Brasov, Romania, 11-13 May 2027., hosted by the Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania. More info soon here.

Handover from Wood K Plus / BOKU in 2026 to the next GA host Transilvania University of Brasov in 2027

Open mic: 4 questions to the InnovaWood community

Check out our hilarious short clips!

Resource section and downloads