Editorial

Dear readers,

“The Best in the South!” – our greeting from the innovative region of Ulm/Neu-Ulm, Germany.

We’re home to a healthy variety of over 500 enterprises of varying sizes, two universities of applied sciences, and a traditional university – making the Ulm/Neu-Ulm region a powerhouse of innovation at the heart of Europe. Many companies in the area are worldwide industry leaders. The gross domestic product in the region rose by 41% over the last decade, the highest improvement in the whole of Germany.

Where does this success stem from? A huge helping of hard work plus a sensible mixture of manufacturing companies on the one hand, and service providers or trading companies on the other – ideal prerequisites.

Another key success factor in our innovative region is the ability to transfer technology know-how between the world of academia and science, and industrial enterprises. Successful technology transfer has many faces: collaboration on degree programs, support from universities with industrial projects, help with new business startups, even partnerships between companies to set up centers of excellence or endowed chairs (professorships) at universities. These are all examples of cooperation that can give wings to a region of innovation. It’s important during such undertakings for everyone involved to be well-networked, as technology transfer needs close cooperation based on trust and good ties between people.

It’s this kind of support that the Steinbeis network of experts is so good at offering. Over the years, it has proven highly effective for everyone involved. Important attributes in this respect have been optimized processes and personal competence. At Ulm University of Applied Sciences alone, there are professors and scientists working with around 30 Steinbeis Centers, each involved in technology transfer, but each with a different specialty.

I hope you enjoy this latest edition of TRANSFER and that we all continue to enjoy the benefits of “The Best in the South!”


Prof. Dr. Manfred Wehrheim

Contact

Prof. Dr. Manfred Wehrheim is Vice President for research and transfer at Ulm University of Applied Sciences. He also heads up the Steinbeis Consulting Center for manufacturing Systems and Processes, one of the many Steinbeis Centers in the Ulm/Neu-Ulm region

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