The Timeless Value of Experience: the Role of Emeritus Professors in Shaping the Future of Innovation

Innovation is often associated with youth, speed, and disruption.However, sustainable and transformative innovation requires more than fresh ideas: it needs vision, and the capacity to integrate knowledge across generations.Emeritus professors play a unique role in this ecosystem, acting as custodians of institutional and technological memory while mentoring young scientists and advising policymakers.The paper examines the dual mission of academia, the challenges of deep-tech innovation, and the strategies needed to overcome the "death valley".It concludes by proposing concrete ways to integrate emeriti into innovation ecosystems to ensure that Europe's future is not only fast, but also wise and inclusive.