The experts’ commission on research and innovation (EFI) handed over its annual report to Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday.
During the presentation, EFI Chair Irene Bertschek of the Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW) warned that the United States and China are far ahead in artificial‑intelligence development. “We cannot afford to give up or step aside” she said. Instead, Germany must invest in expanding computing capacity, improving data use, researching new AI models, and strengthening the European internal market.
Bertschek also highlighted the need for increased focus on security‑relevant research amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. She urged that innovation‑oriented procurement of defence goods be used actively as a tool to boost German capabilities.
The commission’s chair spoke about the transfer of knowledge from universities. Universities generate many groundbreaking ideas, but their potential is not fully realised. “We must urgently boost transfer efforts and make them a peer equal to research and teaching” she insisted.
Medium‑sized firms are pivotal in Germany’s R&I ecosystem. Bertschek called for removing hurdles such as simplifying application procedures for innovation funding and easing immigration for qualified skilled workers.
She added that the state alone cannot shoulder all necessary investment. The High‑Tech Agenda should therefore serve not only as a work programme but also as an instrument to rally all actors in the R&I system, attract massive private investment in research, innovation, and key technologies, and communicate the broad societal benefits of these technologies.
EFI member and Professor Guido Bünstorf of the University of Kassel advocated better equipment for universities. He pointed out that research‑intensive universities lead in both patent applications and in scientific publications that are cited within patents. “Applied basic research frequently couples scientific excellence with concrete application potential” Bünstorf noted, citing breakthroughs ranging from lasers to mRNA vaccines.
However, structural factors currently hamper knowledge and technology transfer at German universities. “Many transfer facilities are poorly equipped, largely because they are not funded from stable university core budgets but rely on short‑term third‑party projects” he warned.