Innovation centres for SMEs in the Hansebelt region

Linking science and business in the Hansebelt region

The Hanse Innovation Campus Lübeck (HIC Lübeck) already links the University of Lübeck and the Lübeck University of Applied Sciences with companies in the region. This link between science and business is now to be expanded. Together with the business development organisations WAS Stormarn, WFL Lauenburg and EGNO Norderstedt, the aim is to support and promote companies in the Hansebelt region through the research expertise on the Lübeck campus. To this end, innovation centres were set up, which are anchored in the "HI Lübeck" project. These advice centres are aimed at the more than 120,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Schleswig-Holstein, which are particularly affected by digital and sustainable changes in the economy.

Thanks to the cooperation between business and development companies and HIC Lübeck, three regional advice centres are now available: at Entwicklungsgesellschaft Norderstedt mbH (Norderstedt district), Wirtschaftsförderung im Herzogtum Lauenburg mbH (Lauenburg district) and Wirtschafts- und Aufbaugesellschaft Stormarn mbH (Stormarn district).

Michaela Bierschwall, Managing Director of WFL, explains: "We are strengthening the locational advantage by promoting dynamic and future-oriented economic development." Through the Innovation Accounts, entrepreneurs gain access to a diverse network of research institutions such as the University of Lübeck, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, the Lübeck Technology Centre, DFKI, UKSH Campus Lübeck, Fraunhofer IMTE and other partners. "This is how we promote the transfer between business and science with a view to future topics," says Marc-Mario Bertermann, Managing Director of EGNO. Ulf Hahn, Managing Director of WAS, is also convinced: "For companies in the Hansebelt and more specifically in Stormarn, the mobile innovation centre in Bad Oldesloe will offer the opportunity to get to know the services and possibilities of Lübeck as a university location in a low-threshold manner and then use them in a targeted and cooperative manner."

"It's about finding solutions to real problems together, strengthening dialogue and bringing together the many perspectives from the region," says Kerstin Rönick, contact person for the Innovation Offices. Interested parties can contact her locally at the offices of the business development organisations. Rönick is networked throughout the entire Hansebelt region and advises companies on opportunities for cooperation between industry and the research institutions at the HIC Lübeck. She believes: "No company is too small to gain impetus for digital and sustainable challenges in the innovation centres."

• _{Joint press release by Hanse Innovation Campus Lübeck, Wirtschafts- und Aufbaugesellschaft Stormarn mbH, Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft im Herzogtum Lauenburg mbH and Entwicklungsgesellschaft Norderstedt mbH}
• _{Photos John Garve}