My guest today on this Special Edition of Inside Ideas is Dr Roland Strauss - one of the most influential figures within the European innovation landscape.  For well over a decade, in his role as Founder of the nonprofit, Knowledge4Innovation, he has been the driving force behind the European Innovation Summit held annually in the European Parliament, which brings European commissioners and MEPs face-to-face with the needs of the company’s, organisations, ideas and startups driving innovation across the continent.   Now, as Europe begins laying out its plans for delivering on its vision to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, it is the role of innovation that will again take centre stage.   And as the key innovation platform at the heart of the European institutions, with the support of dozens of MEPs, it is the K4I Forum in the European Parliament - sitting at the crossroads between politics; businesses; startups; academia and wider society, which is perfectly placed to help define the leading role it will play in achieving this net-zero future.  Right now, Dr Strauss and K4I are doing that most notably by leading the charge for the development of a European Innovation Area - a single ecosystem for innovation across the continent that can harness the collective power of progress to achieve a just transition towards a sustainable Europe that truly works for all.   The journey towards achieving this ecosystem is well underway, with the inaugural European Innovation Area Summit – led by K4I – set to take place in the European Parliament next month.  So, this is the perfect time to welcome Dr Strauss onto Inside Ideas to discover more about the European Innovation Area and its first ever summit.   https://www.europeaninnovationarea.eu