“Innovative University” Funding Programme

Credit: Michael Kompe @ HWR Berlin

13.05.2022
“Innovative University” Funding Programme: 2 Berlin Applications Successful

Brain City Berlin

A joint application from five Berlin universities for funding under the nationwide "Innovative University" initiative has been approved. HTW Berlin, HWR Berlin, BHT as well as the two denominational universities EHB and KHSB will receive around 8.4 million Euro for the next five years. Around 1.2 million Euro of this will go to project partners from business and society. Also successful: the application of ASH Berlin

The focus of the joint application is on the fields of health and climate: “Zukunft findet Stadt. Das Hochschulnetzwerk für ein resilientes Berlin” (The future finds a city. The university network for a resilient Berlin) is the name of the merger of the HTW Berlin – University of Applied Sciences, the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR Berlin), the Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT), the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Berlin (EHB) and the Catholic University for Social Affairs Berlin (KHSB). Together, the five Berlin universities applied for the second round of the nationwide “Innovative Hochschule” (Innovative University). On 5 May, the Joint Science Conference (GWK) announced that the application had been approved. The funding from the Federal and State governments will begin in 2023 and will run over five years. In total, the Berlin university network has applied for around 8.4 million Euro; around 1.2 million Euro of this will go to project partners in industry and society. Approx. 850,000 Euro will flow into the Berlin economy via contracts.

“The Innovative University programme is a kind of counterpart to the Excellence Strategy,” said Prof. Dr. Carsten Busch, spokesman for the Berlin universities for applied sciences and President of the HTW Berlin. “While the Excellence Strategy focuses on cutting-edge research, this funding distinguishes excellent transfer at universities. The main objective of the ‘Innovative University’ programme is to accelerate the mutual transfer between universities, society and business and therefore also strengthen the respective region.” As part of “Zukunft findet Stadt” (The future finds a city), the five Berlin joint universities want to develop and test new transfer formats and activities together with partners from business and society. For example, two real laboratories will be created by the Berlin partners Johannesstift Diakonie and Impact Hub Berlin.

ASH Berlin receives funding for individual application

The Alice Salomon University of Applied Scienes Berlin (ASH Berlin) was also selected for the funding programme. It applied with the individual proposal “Campus Transferale – CaT. Die ASH Berlin auf dem Weg zu einem Transfercampus “ (Campus Transferale - CaT. The ASH Berlin on the way to a transfer campus). In particular, people in the district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf are to be supported and professionally accompanied by participatory research approaches – in cooperation with district partners. “The funding of these two promising applications will enable important impulses to be given to socially relevant topics in Berlin in the coming years,” emphasised Science Senator Ulrika Grote at the announcement of the application approval by the GWK.

165 universities had applied nationwide for the second round of funding of “Innovative University”. 16 individual and 13 collaborative projects were selected by an independent panel. The initiative was adopted in 2016. The Federal and State governments are providing up to 550 million Euro for a total of ten years. The program in particular funds small and medium-sized universities as well as polytechnics/universities for applied sciences. (vdo)

ww.innovative-hochschule.de (German only)