In times of economic transformation, universities are one of the most important location factors for the Bavarian-Swabian region. The MoU serves to strengthen the cooperation between the Swabian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, including its subsidiaries IHK Akademie Schwaben and Management Centrum Schloss Lautrach, and the aforementioned universities. President Prof Dr Uta M. Feser signed the agreement on behalf of the HNU and Dr Matthias Köppel, Division Manager, Location Policy, on behalf of the Swabian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He emphasizes: “With the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, the joint work of the Swabian Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences has reached another important milestone. We look forward to further expanding the bridge between science and business in the future.”
Areas of co-operation and objectives
The partners are working together to increase the proportion of employees with an academic degree among all employees subject to social insurance contributions in Bavarian Swabia to the national average of around 20 per cent. The partners are also working together to improve funding for universities and their transfer institutions. For start-ups, possibilities are to be discussed to improve access to venture capital in the region and to intensify co-operation with medium-sized companies. Co-operation between science and industry is to be permanently strengthened in the areas of cutting-edge technologies such as AI and hydrogen through close networking. In addition, the permeability between vocational and academic education is to be increased in order to offer individual educational opportunities and to enable the comprehensive qualification of skilled workers.
The HNU has already been working closely with the Swabian Chamber of Industry and Commerce and other universities and companies from the very beginning, for example in the start-up sector or in the recruitment and development of skilled workers. HNU President Prof. Dr Uta M. Feser welcomes the intensification of this cooperation: "I am convinced that together we will strengthen and further advance the university and business location of Bavarian Swabia for the challenges of the future."
