Guidelines Open Innovation in Photonics

Photonics is a cross-sectional technology as well as being an industry of its own. Innovation increasingly occurs at the intersection of various technologies. In Europe, SMEs, microenterprises and start-ups in particular require special support in order to keep up with ever-shorter innovation cycles and overcome the so-called „valley of death“. The promotion of innovation – that is, the successful implementation of ideas into new products, services, processes and business models – is a key objective of the European Union-funded project „Photonics4All“, especially for the future-oriented technology of photonics. The development of the guidelines as a basis for use with other activities in the framework of Photonics4all, successfully sensitize and meet the needs of photonics SMEs. The Guidelines – Open Innovation in Photonics is based on the „open innovation“ approach, extended by experts from research institutions, companies and business incubators in three „Photonics Workshops for Innovation“, and has been adapted to European requirements and industry-specific needs