As a regional joint initiative, the Enabling Innovation Münsterland project has supported companies in the region in developing innovations, implementing them and finding the right partners for the project. Together with stakeholders from science, business development agencies and companies, megatrends were identified and new innovation tools were qualified. The project partners and sponsors were:
Over the course of three years, networks were built, events held and cooperations initiated. A selection from three exciting years of Enabling Innovation Münsterland:
The Enabling Innovation Münsterland project started on 1 March 2016 with a volume of around 2.1 million euros. The partners included: Technologieförderung Münster, Wirtschaftsförderung Kreis Coesfeld GmbH, Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft für den Kreis Borken mbH, Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Steinfurt mbH, Gesellschaft für Wirtschaftsförderung im Kreis Warendorf, Arbeitsstelle Forschungstransfer der Universität Münster, TAFH Münster GmbH and Westfälische Hochschule (Bocholt location).
In the second half of 2016, a "Regional Environment Analysis" and a company survey were conducted. The survey examined what makes individual companies in the Münsterland region particularly innovative. The results of the analysis can be read here.
Münsterland e.V. and the project partners presented to 350 guests on 30 March 2017 where the region's outstanding innovation competences lie and how innovations can be promoted in Münsterland. Münsterland has great potential in the areas of Digital Solutions, Life Sciences, Engineering Pro, Materials and Surfaces and Sustainable Eco. Programme highlights included the keynote speech by NRW Science Minister Svenja Schulze, a reading by bestselling author Martin Walker and a blindstorming session on future trends in Münsterland.
Since 3 November 2017, companies in Münsterland have found it easier to come up with a good idea: In the "Who is Who" database they can find potential cooperation and contact partners from the regional research landscape for their own development project. The database allows a targeted search by keyword as well as sorting of contacts by industry expertise, subject area or university. It is regularly updated and supplemented.
Around 100 interested people came to the Tobit Campus in Ahaus on 8 December 2017 for the first enablingcamp in cooperation with münsterLAND.digital e.V.. In a session pitch at the beginning, they called for topic suggestions in the plenum and voted on which aspects there should be short sessions on. They discussed topics such as smart city, 3D printing, e-commerce or "digital catering" and "digital leadership". Input was also provided by enabling sessions on the five innovation competence fields of the Münsterland.
The launch of the regular Meetup format "Product and Industrial Design in Münsterland" took place on 8 March 2018 at the Digital Hub münsterLAND in Münster. The open networking format is aimed at product and industrial designers in Münsterland as well as interested companies and institutions. The focus is on professional exchange in the region on new technologies, innovative ideas and trends in Münsterland.
Predictive maintenance pays off. That was the central message that the 80 or so participants at the Tech Day on 10 April 2019 at Hengst SE in Münster took back with them. The second insight: Predictive maintenance need not and should not be expensive. Companies should not be afraid to tackle the topic, explained Prof. Dr. Reiner Kurzhals, founder of the data analysis start-up Westphalia Data Lab. The topic of "Predictive Maintenance" is being promoted as a focus project by the regional innovation promotion.
At the second enablingcamp on 29 May 2018, innovation ideas for Münsterland were again freely discussed under the motto "Innovation and Region". At the smart.lab of Münster University of Applied Sciences in Steinfurt, the guests themselves determined the topics and sessions of the barcamp. The first input was provided by the "enabling sessions" on the innovation focal points of Münsterland. The enablingcamp was an event organised by Münsterland e.V. in cooperation with Münster University of Applied Sciences, the Digital Hub münsterLAND and WESt GmbH.
Strong family businesses have shaped the Münsterland region for generations. Will this still be the case in the future? Family entrepreneurs and guests at the event "Enabling Family Business - Success Factor Family or Myth" discussed this on 23 October 2018 at GRIPS on the Steinfurt campus of Münster University of Applied Sciences. Managing Director Dan Schmitz explained how the Emsdetten-based Schmitz-Werke is going down this path in conversation with Lohwasser and Tobias Woltering, Managing Director of the Ochtrup-based supplier Woltering.
Robots, drones, e-scooters and many impulses were presented to around 250 people interested in innovation at the Enabling Innovation Festival on 11 April 2019 at the Skaters Palace in Münster. There was everything to see, hear, experience and touch on the topic of innovation. On the main stage, Friedrich Große Dunker from Dark Horse Innovation in Berlin gave an impulse on the topic of digitalisation. Regional companies shared their personal innovation topics on the stage. On the side stage and in the workshops, too, everything revolved around the topic of innovation. In addition, the project documentation was presented in book form.
The Enabling Innovation Münsterland project ended on 30 April 2019, after which Münsterland e.V. and the project partners prepared for the launch of the follow-up project "Enabling Networks Münsterland" to continue the successful regional innovation initiative. The starting signal for this was given in August 2019.
Are you wondering what lessons were learned from the project? You can now read about it in the reference book "Das Innovationsökosystem" (The Innovation Ecosystem) by Dr. Christian Junker (Münster University of Applied Sciences) and Bernd Büdding (Münsterland e.V.). Using the Münsterland region as an example, the authors show how the innovation development of a region can be successfully promoted - including best practices, methods and new instruments for expanding one's own innovation ecosystem.
