The Wissensregion Düsseldorf in the cityscape
The Wissensregion Düsseldorf 2019 must have caught your eye: We used large-scale posters to advertise the Innovation Semester in the summer.
The slogan on the posters, for which we received a lot of encouragement (“We can learn the most from people who think differently”), came about quite organically.
Prof. Edeltraud Vomberg, the new president of Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences and deputy chairwoman of the Wissensregion Düsseldorf board, uttered it in an interview with us.
We were thrilled and made it the motto of the Innovation Semester without further ado. 
Design: Moritz Taske
Many events and formats brought entrepreneurs, scientists and citizens together.
It showed once again: Düsseldorf is a hot spot for knowledge.
The Night of Science 2019
A major highlight this year was definitely the Night of Science.
10,000 interested people visited the science tent on Schadowplatz and the university building on the evening of September 13.
The Wissensregion Düsseldorf office had opened its office doors and was represented in the science tent with a stand for measuring particulate matter.
It became very clear that there is a huge interest in research and knowledge in Düsseldorf.
The lecture hall was packed until late into the night.
Many exhibitors reported that they were hoarse at the end of the night from all the explaining.
The Night of Science was planned under the leadership of Heinrich Heine University as a joint project of the universities and research institutions from the Wissensregion Düsseldorf.
This shows the strength of our metropolis: the cooperation of the many knowledge institutions, which exhibited side by side without competitive thinking.
We are proud of this and look forward to the Night of Science being repeated in the coming years.
We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank the HHU event team under the direction of Joachim Tomesch! 
The first innovation semester ends successfully, the second starts
The Innovation Semester, our unique format in Germany, has proven itself twice over this year.
In March, the first results final took place.
The eight courses that kicked off the first Innovation Semester 2018 presented their results in short presentations.
The hall in the premises of the Düsseldorf Chamber of Crafts was full and the courses had to show what they had come up with in 7.5 minutes in front of a relevant audience (among others, Economics and Innovation Minister Andreas Pinkwart was a guest).
The presentations were as varied as the course topics.
Apps, films and works of art were presented and an active break was included.
The results finale was a complete success: there was amazement and laughter.
At the end, Minister Pinkwart quickly grabbed the microphone once again, praised the results and pointed out the state’s start-up grant, for which some teams with particularly innovative results could definitely be considered. 
Here, too, there was a huge response: a total of 15 courses with over 250 participants were able to start the second innovation semester on 11.10.2019.
The range of course topics is thus even broader, from future trees against climate change, new business models and design thinking in the Deutsche Bank course, to the construction of solar kiosks in the HSD workshop for model making.
We are looking forward to the final results on 17.2.2020!
The Düsseldorf Innovation Semester remains unique in Germany.
The Düsseldorf region shows that it is a metropolis of opportunities.
The interdisciplinary and inter-institutional courses show how well networking already works in the region.
Companies, universities and research institutions are pulling together here to provide young people with excellent training and job prospects.
Networking: knowledge transfer and exchange of ideas
Wissensregion Düsseldorf promotes this networking at all levels.
The Come & Cooperate format, a partner project of IHK Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences and Wissensregion Düsseldorf, took place for the second time on November 5, 2019.
The matching event for SMEs was also very effective in the second round.
Thanks to the stronger networking in the Wissensregion Düsseldorf, the format was also opened up to craft businesses this year and was able to contribute to around 70 cooperation discussions between research and business practice. 
Photo: Melanie Zanin
With this format, which was already very successful in its first run, Wissensregion Düsseldorf obviously hit a nerve.
Many of those who took part took away new insights for their own work from the exchange.
In particular, the networking between the participating companies and institutions was strengthened, including through the signing of a letter of intent between the FOM University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the Düsseldorf Chamber of Skilled Crafts.
In 2020, the brain swap is set to take place on an even larger scale.
Perhaps you already have a job in mind that you would always have liked to do – just for one day, of course…! 
Photo: Wilfried Meyer
Outlook for 2020
At the end of 2019, we were delighted with the success of our partners, IHK Düsseldorf and Wirtschaftsförderung Düsseldorf, together with Wirtschaftsförderung des Kreises Mettmann: the expat service desk, a unique advice center for companies and research institutions on hiring international specialists, received the “Innovative Economic Development 2019” award in the “Regions and Municipal Associations” category from the Forum of German Economic Developers on 22 November in Berlin.
We are taking this as an incentive to increasingly focus on Düsseldorf’s image abroad and a coordinated strategy for internationalization in the Wissensregion Düsseldorf in 2020.
One focus of the work will be on Düsseldorf as a location for international students and workers under the working title “study and work in duesseldorf”!
Of course, you can also look forward to the 2nd and expanded edition of the Exchange of Minds, the final of the Innovation Semester and many great events in the Wissensregion Düsseldorf 2020!
Have you already given us feedback in 2019?
Or do you have a message for our members?
Do you have any ideas or a need for exchange on our fields of action, e.g. knowledge transfer? You are always welcome to contact us!
