On 5 February 2018, Prof. Dr Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, spoke to the Lower Rhine Region’s steering committee in the Senate Hall at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences about strategies and projects for sustainable regional development. The NiederRhein region – comprising the city of Duisburg and the districts of Wesel and Kleve – had identified key areas for the future during ideas workshops held last year. Within the steering committee, the leaders of local authorities, trade associations, trade unions and chambers of commerce, the employment services and equality bodies define the region’s strategic development priorities and discuss projects of region-wide significance.
Wolfgang Spreen, District Administrator of the Kleve district and Chair of the Lower Rhine Region Steering Group, opened the 18th meeting of the Steering Group together with Dr Heide Naderer, President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. “As a university with two campuses right in the heart of the Lower Rhine region, we are delighted to be hosting the Steering Committee,” said Dr Heide Naderer.
Under the theme ‘The Lower Rhine as a Region of Innovation’, Wolfgang Spreen and other speakers highlighted the region’s geographical location in close proximity to the Netherlands. They emphasised that it is important for the region to build on existing approaches to smart specialisation within technology-oriented sectors.
Prof. Dr Andreas Pinkwart gave a presentation on the topic “Strengthening strengths: Development paths for regional and structural policy in North Rhine-Westphalia”. In April 2018, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digitalisation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia will launch the ‘Regio.NRW 2018’ call for proposals for forward-looking and innovative projects in the regions. “We are looking for projects with a regional impact that contribute to local development,” said Minister Pinkwart. “With this call for proposals, we aim to promote regional collaboration and co-operation between local authorities, universities and professional bodies.”
