On August 31, 2022, FDI Center’s Director Dr. Kim J. Zietlow participated in the Data Natives conference, Europe’s biggest data science and AI event. Thousands of tech enthusiasts, researchers, and practitioners from the private and public sector met in Berlin for three days to discuss the latest trends and developments in data analytics, edge computing, natural language programming, and web3. 

Data Natives invited Dr. Zietlow to speak at a panel together with Cecilia MoSze Tham, Founder and Director at Futurity Systems in Barcelona. The panel was moderated by Taryn Andersen, President and Co-founder of Impulse4women and Investor Relations Director of Telegraph Hill Venture Capital. First, Dr. Zietlow spoke on the role of government in building innovation and startup ecosystems around artificial intelligence. He later spoke on which role investment promotion agencies (IPAs) can play in strategically attracting companies, research institutes, and talent. Oftentimes guided by a coherent FDI strategy, IPAs can support their local ecosystem by attracting high-value investment projects such as company R&D centers or deep tech startups. 

The panel further discussed the future of Europe in becoming the global center for artificial intelligence in comparison to China and the US. As well as how artificial intelligence needs to be become a mainstream topic and the need to better promote its benefits for societies. Dr. Zietlow stressed that IPAs can help governments promote the relevance of topics such as data science and artificial intelligence through their IPAs and their international location marketing campaigns.