16 universities, 20 universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia – including Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences – as well as non-university research institutions, such as the Wuppertal Institute in particular, are pooling their expertise for the first time over these two days as part of a joint conference, thereby making it clear that: the academic community is committed to supporting the state’s major transformation challenges and is dedicated to driving forward the implementation of the Agenda 2030 sustainability goals and actively helping to shape the transformation process in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The NRW Future Conference was launched by the Humboldtⁿ Universities’ Sustainability Initiative and the NAW.NRW Sustainability Alliance of universities of applied sciences in NRW. The first NRW Future Conference is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Ina Brandes, Minister for Science and patron of the NRW Future Conference, said: “The density and excellence of our research landscape, with outstanding universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutes, is unique in Europe. The Future Conference brings together this outstanding expertise and unites politics, academia and business around one table. In particular, the close collaboration between universities and universities of applied sciences is a major asset: it combines excellent research with practice-oriented teaching and direct transfer to business and society. Only through close collaboration will we succeed in achieving our sustainability goals.”
Prof. Dr Oliver Locker-Grütjen, President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences and spokesperson for the NRW Sustainability Alliance of Universities of Applied Sciences, emphasises: “The challenges of climate change, the energy transition and social inclusion can only be tackled together. The NRW Future Conference sends a strong signal that our universities are taking joint responsibility – across disciplinary boundaries and types of higher education institution. We would like to thank the University of Duisburg-Essen for providing the venue on its campus and the Ministry for its support.”
This conference brings together leading researchers from North Rhine-Westphalia and pools the expertise of the region’s leading figures in research and knowledge transfer to drive forward sustainable transformation. The actual technical work at the conference takes place in so-called ‘future workshops’. Thematically, these are largely based on the recommendations of the NRW Sustainability Advisory Board to the state government regarding NRW-specific areas of transformation, such as ‘Climate Change and Health’, ‘Transport and the Mobility Transition’ and ‘Social Cohesion’. Scientists of proven excellence lead the thematic areas. They structure the discussion, contribute their expertise and ensure that research, knowledge transfer and societal needs are linked.
The first Future Conference marks the starting point for further activities by the participating partners. Various follow-up formats will ensure that the state’s scientific community continues to contribute its expertise towards achieving the sustainability goals beyond the launch event. Ideas for this, as well as for the involvement of early-career researchers from 2026 onwards, will be further refined during the conference.
Detailed information on the Future Conference can be found at: www.zukunftskonferenz.nrw
