ZEW Economist Irene Bertschek Appointed to R&I Expert Commission

Professor Irene Bertschek, head of the Research Department “Digital Economy” at ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim, has been appointed as a new member of the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI) as of 1 May 2019. EFI’s task is to provide scientific policy advice to the federal government.  “The appointment of Irene Bertschek is a testament to her great work and an accolade for ZEW,” says ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach. “The German government is pursuing ambitious plans in the coming years to promote digitalisation and artificial intelligence. A proven expert in these fields such as Irene Bertschek is therefore the right person for this important position.”

Irene Bertschek’s research deals with the question of how digitalisation changes economic processes and how it affects the productivity and innovation behaviour of companies. “Digitalisation has become a crucial factor for the success of a company’s innovation activity, as well as for the innovation performance of the economy. I am therefore looking forward to being able to make a significant contribution to the work of EFI in the future by sharing my scientific expertise,” explains the economist, who in addition to her work at ZEW also holds a professorship for the “Economics of Digitalisation” at Justus Liebig University Giessen.

The EFI counts six renowned experts in the field of economics and submits annual reports on research, innovation and technological performance in Germany. The report builds on comprehensive analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of the German innovation system in an international and temporal comparison. On the basis of state-of-the-art scientific studies, the perspectives of Germany in terms of research and innovation are evaluated and proposals for optimising national R&I policy are developed.

Irene Bertschek studied economics at the University of Mannheim and the Université catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Having participated in the European Doctoral Program, she earned her doctorate at the Université catholique de Louvain. She has been working at ZEW since 1999, where she has been heading the then newly established research unit which deals with issues relating to the digital economy since 2001.