Breaking new ground as a business – not only, but also, in times of crisis. Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences aims to highlight ways in which this can be achieved. To this end, it is now launching the ‘Cross Innovation Lab – NiederRhein’ project.
Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, at its Kamp-Lintfort campus, has recently launched the joint project “Cross Innovation Lab – NiederRhein” in cooperation with Ruhr-West University of Applied Sciences, Agrobusiness Niederrhein e.V., Mobile Communication Cluster e.V. and Coduct GmbH.
The aim of the project, led by Professor Dr Karsten Nebe, Professor of Usability Engineering and Digital Manufacturing, and Professor Dr-Ing Rolf Becker, Professor of Physics specialising in sensor technology and mechatronics, is to address the low or declining propensity for innovation amongst small and medium-sized enterprises. To this end, a novel methodological approach for a corresponding regional system is to be developed in order to enhance companies’ capacity for innovation.
“Particularly in times of crisis, such as those we have all experienced in recent months, it is more important than ever for companies to be able to act and react flexibly, pursue new approaches and, where possible, tap into new business areas even at short notice. This ensures competitiveness and safeguards jobs,” said Professor Nebe.
The project relies heavily on encouraging regional stakeholders to ‘get involved’ in specific idea-generation and implementation processes. The methods will be developed in several phases using time-limited projects running until the end of March 2023. The results will then take the form of concrete, illustrative demonstrators. The FabLabs at Rhein-Waal and Ruhr-West Universities, which are involved in the implementation, are open workshops and thus ideal venues for inspiration, creative exchange and practical implementation (‘third places of learning’). Through their networks and specialist expertise, the project’s regional partners are helping to realise the project’s interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach.
“We were already able to get off to a flying start with a practical solution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working in collaboration with St Bernhard Hospital in Kamp-Lintfort and the Lower Rhine district branch of the German Red Cross (DRK), we developed face visors for medical staff, which were ready for use within a short space of time thanks to the involvement of all stakeholders,” reports Professor Nebe.
Potential regional participants – universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, business representatives, employment agencies, schools, practitioners and the general public – are brought together in practical workshops and encouraged to get involved. Here, transdisciplinary knowledge and skills are transformed into solutions (cross-innovation). The knowledge generated collaboratively, as well as the demonstrators, are shared publicly (open source).
The topics selected for the innovation projects are based on the guidelines of the OP EFRE NRW operational programme, the NRW Innovation Strategy, the NRW Digital Strategy, and the ZIKON 2020 regional development strategy for the Lower Rhine region. The collaborative project “Cross Innovation Lab – Lower Rhine” has a total budget of around 2.3 million euros.
Professor Nebe emphasises: “Anyone who wishes to take part is welcome to get involved. We hope for active participation from as many stakeholders in the region as possible and for a creative exchange of ideas. The expertise, ideas and suggestions of all those involved are a key component of the project’s success.”
This project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF):
