Innovation literally means „novelty“ or „renewal“. The „new“ is much in demand in many social fields but it is most important in science. Jürgen Mittelstraß and Harald zur Hausen will discuss the question „How does innovation work?“ at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW). The lecture and discussion is hosted by the Schering Stiftung in cooperation with the BBAW in order to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue on innovation development.

Where and how does innovation happen? How do innovations enter daily life and change it to the better or worse? New terms like leap or step-by-step innovation play a role in health care where quality and outreach of an innovation have an impact on costs and benefits. At the center of this evening of talks and discussions are questions of academic research performance and application research, of the freedom of research and economic necessity.