On Wednesday, December 13, the three partners signed a corresponding agreement on the "Regional Innovation Scouting" project.

The concept envisages experts from the Technology Transfer Office at TU Braunschweig visiting companies in coordination with the business development agencies in order to determine their innovation needs. This need for innovation is to be met through cooperation between the companies and scientific institutions. Depending on the subject area, TU Braunschweig puts the companies in touch with other research institutions in the region.

"With its many scientific institutions, the Braunschweig research region offers enormous potential for innovation," says Gerold Leppa, Head of Economic Affairs for the City of Braunschweig and Managing Director of Braunschweig Zukunft GmbH. "Knowledge and new findings are created right here on site. If we succeed in making this knowledge accessible to companies in the region, we will make our economy fit for the future."

This is why the city and TU Braunschweig have been working closely together in the field of technology transfer for decades and have been linked by a cooperation agreement since 2011. The aim of regional innovation scouting is to combine the strengths of the partners. "We have a direct line to industry and TU Braunschweig has the expertise in technology transfer," says Leppa.

"We are delighted to be able to expand our already extensive range of services for companies in the region as part of this cooperation," says Professor Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, President of TU Braunschweig. "The innovation scouts will be on site at the companies to assess their needs and arrange discussions with our institutes. In this way, tailor-made solutions can be developed."

"Regional innovation scouting is also intended to help companies access funding, as innovation plays a major role in the current EU funding period," says Thomas Wetzel, Managing Director of Wirtschafts- und Innovationsförderung Salzgitter GmbH. "The project is also highly interesting for us as a regional cooperation, as well as for the companies in the region."

Leppa also emphasized the regional nature of the initiative. "The fact that we are tackling this task together with our colleagues from Salzgitter shows that the region is well networked and pulling in the same direction," says Leppa.

The background to the project is that small and medium-sized companies usually do not have their own research and development department and often only have limited financial resources to drive forward the necessary innovations quickly. Advancing digitalization and networking in particular present companies with major challenges in some cases and increase the pressure to innovate. "Regional innovation scouting is intended to intensify contacts between companies and the research environment and expand cooperation between business and science," says Leppa.

The city of Braunschweig is funding the project, which will initially run for three years, with 36,000 euros per year, while the Salzgitter Economic Development Agency is contributing 18,000 euros per year. Accordingly, 30 company visits per year are planned in Braunschweig and 15 in Salzgitter.