The National Research Development and Innovation Office organizes The Week of Innovative Regions in Europe under the Hungarian EU Council Presidency on 13-15 November, 2024. The choice of the theme of this year's conference reflects on one of the priorities of the Hungarian presidency and a key factor of competitiveness for the European Union in the upcoming years. The discussions will contribute to the analysis of the state-of-the-art and identify challenges and best practices. The program will cover these topics through examining several initiatives, concepts and tools launched, elaborated and offered by the European Union, such as the Smart Specialization concept, Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument, the Partnerships for Regional Innovation pilot, Regional Innovation Valleys. In order to get a sufficiently detailed and complex picture speakers will address the effectiveness of these tools, present good practices, and highlight synergies of European and regional funding schemes.

In today's dynamic industrial landscape, the agility of workers to embrace change stands as a critical factor. The competitive edge of industries heavily relies on the adeptness, innovation, and adaptability of their workforce. Identified skill gaps and mismatches between labor demand and supply pose direct hindrances to the creation of employment opportunities. It is imperative that skill development aligns with the evolving socio-economic dynamics. Education and training must be tailored to equip individuals with the requisite skills to navigate and excel in the field of green-digital technologies. The Hungarian presidency conference will address different aspects of skills development and the smart specialization concept through various program formats and networking activities, involving EU-level and national policymakers, researchers and training experts. The conference will contribute to developing the conceptual framework of skills development for smart specialisation, address differences between member states and provide evidence for better integration of skills development into S3 strategies.

The brain, its functions and its complexity despite intensive research efforts globally, still remains a mystery, especially when it comes to preserving its health. Brain health is an emerging and growing concept that encompasses neural development, plasticity, functioning, and recovery including mental health aspects in a life course perspective. Numerous interconnected social, environmental, life style choices and biological determinants (incl. genetics) play a role in brain development and brain health throughout the life course. Recent developments in our society e.g. aging populations, the COVID pandemic, environmental pollution, unhealthy nutrition and lifestyle, lack of exercise have increasing negative impact on brain health. By addressing a topic highly important for the European society, the conference aims at promoting the importance of multistakeholder approach in order to maximize societal impact of Brain Health research, gather feedback on challenges and good practices of cooperation and discuss possible ways towards an effective and dynamic pan-European research and innovation cooperation. The conference will provide various plenary and interactive formats for engaging stakeholders, also workshops, site visits and side-events