Representatives from science, business and politics from the Düsseldorf region will discuss the development of the common Wissensregion on February 13, 2017.
Improved networking, the development of new collaborations and long-term planning are on the agenda – alongside a review of existing collaborations.
Düsseldorf, Mettmann and Neuss are already at the heart of one of the most efficient Wissensregionen in Europe.
In order to compete for the best talent, attractive offers and digital transformation, the initiators of the “Wissensregion Düsseldorf Kick-off Conference” want to achieve even more.
The kick-off conference is planned as a working meeting for a large group of participants – well over one hundred experts are expected.
The meeting will take place in the university building.
Among other things, processes and structures for the further development of the knowledge region will be discussed.
In order to be able to work in a structured manner even with the large number of participants, an introduction to the topic will be followed by in-depth discussions in eight working groups.
The working topics were determined following preparation by a comprehensive online survey of opinion leaders in the region.
The conference participants will address topics such as student advisory services, the interaction between business, NGOS and universities or colleges, digitalization, infrastructure, art and culture.
In the aforementioned online survey, the status quo of previous cooperation was first determined.
This takes place, for example, in the start-up network, an association of 23 institutions that supports founders in Düsseldorf from the business idea to the start of self-employment.
Many organizations and institutions in the region are already working together – for example at events such as the Long Night of Science, citizen science projects or political education events.
However, the survey also asked participants about other expectations and wishes.
Among other things, they expressed a desire for better cooperation between universities, the development of new learning models such as Boston/Camebridge and the expansion of city partnerships in the USA How can cooperation be improved?
Which projects can create further interesting offers for citizens, administration and business?
And vice versa: What impulses from civil society, business and politics can challenge and stimulate universities and other knowledge institutions in a positive sense?
These issues also raise the question of how Düsseldorf as a knowledge location can be made more attractive in comparison to other regions – and how its strengths can be more clearly highlighted.
What distinguishes Wissensregion Düsseldorf from other knowledge locations – this could be a crucial question for the city’s and all other stakeholders’ location communication.
However, new concepts for cooperation are to be developed not only on the basis of the online survey, but also using examples from other knowledge regions.
Many regions in Germany have initiated comparable processes or are in the midst of doing so.
These include, for example, UniverCity Bochum or the Science City Potsdam. The level of development of these initiatives varies greatly and always depends on when they were launched, the respective partners and the ambitions and ideas of the region.
There are even special instruments for monitoring such processes nationwideWith the Science Score Card, a project of the Stifterverband, a total of thirteen cities and regions are undergoing a comprehensive analysis.
The status quo and progress is regularly determined and new recommendations for action are derived.