Europe is currently facing historical challenges that will determine its future role in world’s economy and in the definition of the socio-political equilibrium of the next decades when both industrial and social policies will be determinants to allow a sustainable European renaissance.The EU 2020 Strategy highlights those short term and long term actions able to respond to the challenges Europe is willing to master. Under these premises, CNR, APRE and ASTER will organize the “LEADERSHIP IN ENABLING AND INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES” 2014 CONFERENCE (LEIT 2014) under the Italian Presidency of the European Union with the endorsement of the Italian Ministry for Research and Education (MIUR).The objective of the LEIT 2014 CONFERENCE” will be:- to discuss the European strategy, vision and mission for research and innovation in Industrial Technologies, within the frame of Horizon 2020.- to highlight the connection between Industrial leadership and Societal Challenges- to support networking among stakeholders, also outside the “NMP community”- to stimulate future appropriate political initiativesThe LEIT 2014 CONFERENCE will be organised in Bologna from September 29th to October 1st 2014 and will debate on how to efficiently exploit the results of research and technological development in the field of nanotechnologies and advanced materials, manufacturing and processing (NMP themes) in order to transform these results into products, processes, systems and business models able to face the societal challenges, through the support of excellent science and key enabling technologies.Within this aim, the conference will provide different points of view to investigate the Research and Innovation contribution of enabling and industrial technologies, fostering both social leadership and industrial leadership in Europe in order to face the societal challenges highlighted by Europe 2020 strategy and Horizon 2020 framework programme.