Knowledge (of others) for a sustainable future
There are four universities in the Hannover Transfer Campus. The aim is to put scientific findings, patents and methods into practice, with many amazing examples.
The universities in the HTC
The Hannover Transfer Campus (HTC) includes four top-performing universities in the Region Hannover. Together they create sustainable structures for supporting transfer activities. The result is a regional innovation eco-system with fruitful soil for know-how of all kinds. It just needs constant irrigation, to perpetuate the gardening image. Hannover Transfer Campus pools expertise from different disciplines and from pure and applied research. That is the advantage.
The Campus includes Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover University of Applied Sciences the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover (HMTMH).
Small company: is it going the right way?
It is the view from the outside that helps. What’s more, it’s free of charge. “uni transfer” is the research and technology contact point of Leibniz University Hannover. On behalf of small and medium-sized companies, the experts sound out the core skills, assess altogether 35 innovation management processes and take a look at a company’s businesses processes or organisation structure. Are the employees able to shape and structure the process? Specific recommendations are given. A confidential report is presented to the company on site.
“I can’t hear properly”
Around 15 million people in Germany are affected by hearing impediments. That’s a considerable number. It is not only the elder generation: new-born babies are also sometimes affected by inner ear deafness. Implanted prostheses stimulate the auditory nerve and can help those affected. The European Research Council is now supporting further research into hearing prosthetics at Hannover Medical School to the tune of two million Euro over five years. Prof. Dr. Waldo Nogueira Vazquez leads the research group at the HMS Department of Otorhinolaryngology. Cochlea implants (CI) can help when the auditory nerve itself is still intact. The research looks into the reciprocal effects of acoustic and electrical stimulation. Ideally, in future the prosthesis will be located at the ear and no longer in the inner ear. This makes it more pleasant for the patient and easier for doctors to insert. “I can’t hear properly” should then be a thing of the past.
“To-go” food with bioplastics
It is a well-known fact that the world is really struggling with plastic and consequently microplastic waste. Two start-ups at Hannover University of Applied Sciences are looking into a recyclable multi-use bowl known as REBOWL. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in sales of food “to go”, due among others to the pandemic. The cooperation project from Hannover is now working with a bioplastic material and a deposit system. The bowl can be used several times; at the end of its lifecycle, it can then be recycled without leaving any non-perishable residues. Advantages: the bowls don’t leak and withstand temperatures of up to 85 degrees; they are available in three variants and are dark green in _colour to prevent discolouring, from turmeric for example. Together with RECUP (replacing up to 1,000 disposable cups), it is already being used on a nationwide scale.
Healthy communication?
The research and transfer centre that belongs to the HMTMH Department of Journalism and Communication Research deals with a special area of public media use. How do people find out about illnesses, how do the media report on health and illness? How can communication help to promote health? What are the health impacts of using the media anyway? The department looks at theoretical and practical questions and also examines the consequences for body and soul of staring for hours at a smartphone or table.
For the Region Hannover and beyond
One general trend shows the extent of sharing between research, practice and daily use. Hannover Transfer Campus does more than just report on the results of joint projects with its partners. It offers support, finds experts for the specific tasks and thus weaves close ties between industry, culture, society and science. Initially this applies to the Region Hannover and strengthens the local partners. But it also has effects that go way beyond the region, as shown by the four examples: their success is not limited just to the region, with a huge number of applications. To find the right department of the corresponding university, the key areas of the individual institutions are as follows:
- Biomedical research, quantum optics, optical technologies, production technologies, interdisciplinary studies of science – Leibniz University Hannover
- Leibniz University Hannover
- Infection and immunity research, transplantation and regeneration together with biomedical technology and implant research – Hannover Medical School
- Energy and resource efficiency, quality of life and connected future (computer sciences and media) – Hannover University of Applied Sciences
- Journalism and communication research, health communication, media and the music industry University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover
Information
For more information and examples, go to www.hannover-transfer-campus.de and to www.uvn.digital.de
Start-up funding – dramatically successful
Furthermore, the “starting business” start-up service is enjoying dramatic success. In five years, more than 500 start-up projects have received consulting and qualification, with cooperation between Leibniz University Hannover, the city economic development agency and hannoverimpuls GmbH. More than ten million Euro in funding has been acquired. In this respect, Hannover as a business location has rapidly taken a nationwide lead. New, innovative companies have settled here, creating many new, qualified jobs. This needs a constant flow of new ideas and clever applications. Accordingly, “Niedersachsen.digital“ (digital Lower Saxony) has been set up by the state, with the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs together with UVN (Lower Saxony business associations). _Representatives from industry and research play a key role. Minister of Economic Affairs Dr Bernd Althusmann puts it like this: “Using digital information sources, directing and managing is the challenge for entrepreneur and headteacher alike.“ (citation from https://www.uvn.digital/presse/niedersachsen-digital-initiative-vernetzt-digitale-vorreiter/)
And Lower Saxony is on a particularly good footing in this respect, particularly with the Region Hannover. It is precisely these close ties between science, industry and society that act as the driving force for a successful future. What’s needed is encouraging and accelerating the spirit of sharing to the maximum effect. Knowledge does it!
Header picture: weedezign/stockAdobe.com
