InnovaWood General Assembly 2024 | Prague, Czech Republic
- Go to InnovaWood activities report
- Download Presentations and new member posters
- Go to photo gallery
The 22nd Annual General Assembly of InnovaWood took place from 14 to 15 May 2024 in Prague, Czech Republic, hosted by the Czech University of Life Sciences. The event featured networking, workshops, keynote speakers, and the introduction of new members. The shared passion for wood science, education, and innovation fostered a vibrant exchange of ideas and partnerships.
Participants also explored the beautiful city of Prague. We sincerely thank our hosts Radek Rinn, Přemysl Šedivka, Anna Filousova and the entire team at the Czech University of Life Sciences for their exceptional hospitality and warm welcome in the Czech Republic.
The two-day event brought together 80 individuals from 46 member organizations and 12 guest partners, representing 20 countries. Additionally, 10 participants from 10 organizations joined online.
Radek Rinn of the Czech University of Life Sciences opened the program by presenting the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, and Tomáš Krejzar from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic presented facts and figures on the Czech forestry and wood sector.
Membership
InnovaWood continues to grow and our network now spans 80 organizations across 30 countries. The complete list of InnovaWood members can be accessed at the InnovaWood website.
There has been a growing interest in InnovaWood: nine organizations have joined the network as new members in 2023-2024. They include three organizations from Norway, 1 from Finland, 3 from Spain, 1 from France and 1 from Romania – a new country on our list:
- The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
- The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
- Omtre, Norway, a research company
- University of Eastern Finland, specifically the Faculty of Science, Forestry, and Technology
- The Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Spain
- The University of Navarra’s ONESTA Wood Chair, Spain
- The Galician Agency for Forest-Based Industry, Spain
- Critt Bois, France, a regional center for innovation and technology transfer
- Transylvania University of Brasov, Romania, with the Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering
Keynote presentations and Panel discussion
The morning was dedicated to green and digital transformation and the role of wood research, innovation and education in helping the transformation. It started with presentations from the key speakers:
- EU Green Deal: a boom for wood research and innovation? – By Jan-Willem van de Kuilen from Technical University of Munich and Delft University of Technology
- EU policies and the role of innovation – by Kris Wijnendaele from the European Panel Federation
- Research needs for a circular wood sector – by Erik Larnøy from the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research NIBIO.
For the following panel discussion Jan-Willem van de Kuilen and Kris Wijnendaele were joined by Višnja Košćak from Holzcluster Steiermark, who discussed the gap between needed and actual paradigm shifts, Jiří Skřipský from the Czech Association of Prefabricated House Supplier, Tomáš Lukeš, Association of Czech Furniture Manufacturers, who focused on the Czech prefab housing and furniture sectors, and Kristine Nore from Omtre, who elaborated on the circular economy.
From left to right: Višnja Košćak, Jiří Skřipský, Tomáš Lukeš, Kristine Nore, Kris Wijnendaele, Jan-Willem van de Kuilen
Together, their contributions provided valuable insights into the ongoing transformation of the industry by incorporating perspectives from industry, research and education and understanding the current state and future trajectory.
Innovawood activities report
In his report, Uwe Kies, Secretary General of InnovaWood, took stock of the past year activities, projects and results and gave an outlook for the upcoming years. The key highlights include:
- Secretariat: The team has grown over the previous years to 9 members with a good mix of different competencies and various European nationalities. Our goal is to enhance awareness and provide strategic direction for the forest and wood sector, ensuring clear and effective communication across all stakeholders.
- Network and membership: InnovaWood has expanded to represent 81 member organizations from 30 countries, now including Romania with the addition of Transylvania University of Brasov. Our diverse membership includes 32 research and technology organizations, 37 universities, 8 cluster and promotion organizations, and 4 vocational education and training centers. The impact of our network is evident in our growing presence across European platforms and the increased outreach and support InnovaWood provides to its members.
- Communication: InnovaWood showcased projects and wood sectors’ innovations at numerous events Europe-wide. Key highlights include Uwe Kies keynote at the World Conference of Timber Engineering, Vanessa Bano at the panel discussion of the European Panel Federation, and Basajaun project reusable booth at the Woodrise International Congress. Our social media presence, boosted by the NEB Academy project, has become a crucial tool for engaging stakeholders.
- Branding: Florence Kuijl presented InnovaWood’s refreshed website as a tool to disseminate our work to the European wood sector and research community.
- Projects, alliances and platforms: InnovaWood is actively involved in 12 European projects, where we often lead communication efforts, and also drive policy recommendations. Our influence is growing through membership in four European and international networks. NEB Alliance has become a dynamic force responding to the European Bauhaus initiative, and we have just launched the NEB Academy project that was particularly mentioned by Ursula van der Leyen during the NEB Festival. The InnovaWood Circular economy workshop series with nearly 100 participants was very well received by our members. Upcoming initiatives include a high-impact policy event in Brussels in November 2024, focused on wood policy and innovation.
- Outlook: InnovaWood is committed to connecting the wood research, innovation, and education community, offering our members access to contacts, specialized groups, and partnerships. We aim to expand beyond projects and build strategic alliances and platforms across the forestry, construction and also creative sectors. InnovaWood key priorities for our members include networking, communication and dissemination, policy advocacy, access to technical expertise as well as consortia forming and proposal support.
Networking
The GA offered a well-orchestrated program to meet and connect in both formal and informal setting, including:
- A pre-event informal evening before the conference on Day 0 and the social dinner on Day 1
- At least three hours of networking built into the two-day conference agenda. This included the speed networking session, the research and innovation results pitch discussion, the new members and research posters halls and networking coffee breaks
- Participant list included the LinkedIn handles to facilitate keeping in touch also after the event.
For the Research and Innovation Results Pitch session 10 participants delivered 2-minute long engaging pitch talks focusing on the results of their research. It was moderated by Oliver Jancke and was followed by a 30-minute networking session with the interested participants and potential beneficiaries.
Plenary and Resolutions of the GA 2024
- Erik Larnøy as President and Mike Burnard as Vice-President were confirmed for their second term of two years at the 2024 GA.
- Dobrochna Augustyniak-Wysocka, Višnja Košćak and Chris De Roock were confirmed for their second term of two years,
- Riccardo Castellini from CESEFOR Foundation was elected as new member to the Executive Board.
InnovaWood is very thankful to the outgoing Executive Board member Javier Garcia Jaca for his unwavering support of the Secretariat during the past years.
Day 2 discussion tables centered around specific topics of cooperation among IW members.
Table 1 – Circular Economy in the wood sector, moderated by Erik Larnøy, NIBIO – developed cooperative opportunities for the new COST action targeting Wood and Natural fibers recycling.
Table 2 – EU policies in the forest and wood sector, moderated by Vanesa Baño, InnovaWood and Mireia Pecurul-Botines, Forest Sciences and Technology Centre of Catalonia CTFC – discussed the impact of these policies on supply and demand for wood products. The session also validated whether trends are upward, downward, or stable.
Table 3 – AI in wood research and industry, Mark Schubert, EMPA
Table 4 – The NEB Academy, moderated by Mike Burnard, InnoRenew – brainstormed how NEBA can support the HE institutions and the forest, wood and construction sectors and interact with them
Table 5 – Fostering the mobility of students and researchers across Europe, moderated by Radek Rinn, CZU – talked about opportunities and motivation for exchange among students and researchers.
Company visit and social program
Second part of Day 2 offered the visit to Ahrend Czech Republic where attendees had the opportunity to visit the facility and gain insights into the office furniture that is functional, ergonomic and produced with a circular mindset.
The social program in Prague included the guided tour of Prague’s Hradčany off the beaten tourist tracks and the official dinner in the Hotel International.
Connect, share, influence – these are the cornerstones of our mission. The program of the 2024 General Assembly was an opportunity to connect with our members and passionate professionals to exchange ideas about the future of research, innovation, and education in the wood sector. Looking forward to see you next year in Greece for the 2025 InnovaWood General Assembly!
Thank you for joining us!
Radek Rinn, CZU. Welcome at the FLD, CZU Prague
Tomáš Krejzar, Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. Czech forestry and wood sector
Erik Larnøy, NIBIO. Research needs for a circular wood sector
Kris Wijnendaele, European Panel Federation. EU policies and the role of innovation
Jan-Willem van de Kuilen, Technical University of Munich and Delft University of Technology. EU Green deal: a boom for wood research and innovation?
Nada Konícková. Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Technology Centre. Horizon Europe – Opportunities for collaboration.
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
UNAV Onesta Wood Chair University of Navarra
IAAC Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia
UNITBV Transilvania University of Brasov
UEF University of Eastern Finland, Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology
XERA Galician Agency for Forest-Based Industry
NMBU Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Uwe Kies, InnovaWood. InnovaWood activity report 2023-2024
Below, we present a selection of photographs taken during the 22nd Innovawood General Assembly. At the end of the gallery, you will find a button to download all the images in high resolution as a zip file. We invite you to share and use these photos, always crediting Innovawood.
