Canadian-German Eureka Co-Chair 2024–2025: A year of shared leadership driving sustainable innovation across borders

The Canadian-German Eureka Co-Chair has officially released its Co-Chair Review Report 2024–2025, summarising a landmark year of international cooperation in research and innovation. From July 2024 to June 2025, Canada and Germany jointly led the Eureka Network—marking the first time in its 40-year history that two countries shared the chair. 

The newly published report showcases the manyfold achievements of this joint leadership and underscores how strong partnerships can advance global innovation and sustainability. 

This unique collaboration in the history of the Eureka network reflected the deep trust and shared vision between both nations and underscored the growing importance of cross-border cooperation in promoting global innovation. 

A milestone year for global co-innovation 

Under the joint leadership of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the co-chair achieved remarkable results. Among its highlights: the launch of the international funding initiative on circular value creation, which brought together 17 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The initiative promotes R&D projects that embed sustainability and digital resilience into products, business models, and supply chains. 

“Impactful innovations for the value creation of the future require cross-border cooperation in research and technology,” said Melanie Rüther, Eureka High-Level Representative for Germany. “Without the power of the network, a call for R&D projects with such international reach would not have been possible.” 

Expanding Eureka’s global reach 

The co-chair period strengthened Eureka’s global footprint, welcoming Brazil as a new member and renewing the associations of Singapore and South Africa. These milestones further cemented Eureka’s role as a truly global network for collaborative innovation. 

A major highlight was the Global Innovation Summit (GIS 2025), held during Hannover Messe in April 2025. The event attracted over 900 participants from 50 countries, including ministers, business leaders, and researchers, to discuss cross-border innovation and circular technologies. 

“Our partnership with Germany has shown what we can achieve through shared leadership, mutual respect, and a common vision,” said Mitch Davies, President of the NRC and Eureka High-Level Representative for Canada. “We truly do go further together.” 

Strengthening strategy and governance 

The report also details the adoption of a new long-term strategy for the Eureka network, which will guide future priorities around operational excellence, global partnerships, and stronger innovation impact. Financial stability of the network was further strengthened through the creation of a reserve fund and enhanced governance structures. 

Eureka meetings held in Berlin, Bonn, and Montréal—the latter marking the first-ever Eureka meetings outside Europe—introduced new interactive formats such as the “NPC Open Hour” and success story pitches. 

Building a stronger innovation ecosystem 

Throughout their co-chair year, Canada and Germany championed innovation across all Eureka programmes, from Eurostars and Globalstars to Innowwide and the Eureka Clusters. Their leadership helped garner record participation and tangible innovation outcomes—from AI-driven energy savings to sustainable materials and space technologies.

Read the full report highlighting key achievements, flagship initiatives, and insights from a year of shared leadership in international innovation.