With area.L, the HTWK Foundation and the Faculty of Engineering have trialled a new event format to promote cooperation in the STEM field between science and industry in the Leipzig region.
The Leipzig region is a centre of science and business. Colleges, universities, research institutes, companies and start-ups are extremely committed players in the field of research and development. They contribute both regionally and nationally to promoting innovation in the STEM sector. However, the opportunities for personal exchange, especially between researchers and employees of companies and start-ups, are often limited beyond everyday life. There is considerable potential here for collaborations in the STEM field that can further strengthen the region's innovative power.
Prof Stephan Schönfelder, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, is the initiator of area.L together with the HTWK Foundation: "The economic performance of the state is currently a much-discussed and relevant topic. HTWK Leipzig trains skilled workers for regional companies and acts as a research partner to enable and drive innovation. The cooperation between the university and companies as well as the transfer of knowledge through projects and graduates form the potential for a strong regional economy. With this innovative event format, we are creating a platform for companies and universities, as well as researchers and students, to network and exchange ideas with area.L."
With the new transfer and networking event area.L, the Faculty of Engineering, together with the HTWK Foundation, provided interested parties with a platform dedicated to getting to know each other, networking and exchanging ideas for an entire afternoon on 23 April 2024. Interested parties from the scientific community, the student body, the start-up scene and medium-sized companies as well as nationally operating companies in the Leipzig region took advantage of this opportunity.
Torsten Brammer, founder of WAVELABS Solar Metrology Systems GmbH, gave a keynote speech entitled "Founding, researching and working in the region", providing an insight into the challenges and opportunities faced by start-ups that have entered into partnerships with universities.
In the subsequent panel discussion with representatives from HTWK Leipzig, the City of Leipzig's Economic Development Agency, SAB Sächsische Aufbaubank, enviaM, SIEMENS and ESA Grimma GmbH, the participants exchanged and discussed a wide range of experiences.
In his expert pitch, Prof. Marco Krondorf explained what a simple and quick form of cooperation between universities and companies can look like. The Vice Dean for Research, Prof Mirco Fuchs, also presented the diverse and very extensive research and teaching activities of the Faculty of Engineering, which range from automation and robotics, smart energy and smart design to advanced materials and artificial intelligence.
The feedback
"area.L was great. The event was a great opportunity to network with researchers from HTWK and entrepreneurs from the region."
Torsten Brammer, the founder of WAVELABS Solar Metrology Systems GmbH
"The discussions at the area.L meeting - on and off the stage - provided a lot of good ideas on how we can better utilise the potential for regional cooperation."
Sebastian Wegner, CEO Sciospec Scientific Instruments GmbH, Bennewitz www.sciospec.com
"Companies such as Actemium, enviaM, Siemens, SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator and the City of Leipzig are already making a valuable contribution, but events like area.L are still needed to increase visibility and bring interested parties together," emphasises Swantje Jung, Head of Marketing at SpinLab and moderator of area.L.
A continuation of the event at HTWK Leipzig is planned for spring 2025.
LINKS
Website | https://fing.htwk-leipzig.de/area-l
Programme | area.L 23 April 2024
