UBT President Prof. Dr. Stefan Leible is the technical spokesperson for the Science Forum of the Metropolitan Region. He comments on this official recognition from the EU Commission: "Thousands of bright minds are researching and studying here at 21 universities and around 50 research institutions, making the region a place of knowledge, innovation and future-oriented thinking. We bring these ideas together with business and politics. This is the only way to create a sustainable future: networking experts and offering them a motivating, fruitful environment - that is the strength of the metropolitan region."
According to the European Innovation Scoreboard published by the EU Commission, the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region is now part of the top group of Strong Innovators and one of only twelve German "Innovation Valleys". "They illustrate the European added value and show the strengths of location-based innovations for tackling the pressing challenges of our time," says Elisa Ferreira, EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms.
An important building block for the EU label is the diverse research landscape in the region. The University of Bayreuth demonstrates networking between research and industry as well as a pronounced innovative spirit in numerous places. For example, the research field of Artificial Intelligence is represented in each of the seven faculties. In addition, the University of Bayreuth is the second German university in the AI Alliance, an association for the development and promotion of open technologies for artificial intelligence software, models and tools.
The Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, founded in 2020, bridges the gap between research and practice by providing expert advice and support to the next generation of start-ups from four chairs. Every year, start-ups in the double-digit range emerge from the University of Bayreuth and strengthen the start-up culture in the region. The institute is also the central point of contact for partners in the regional innovation ecosystem from business, research, institutions and organizations.
One of the major patent applicants in the metropolitan region is the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, which has three facilities in Bayreuth and is an ideal partner for application-oriented research. The University of Bayreuth and the Fraunhofer Project Group for Regenerative Production, the Fraunhofer Center for High-Temperature Lightweight Construction and the Business Informatics Division of Fraunhofer FIT are pooling their expertise in numerous projects and thus further expanding the research-promoting environment in the science and business location Bayreuth.
The EU Regional Innovation Valley distinction is intended to increase the visibility of the metropolitan region as a central European innovation region and strengthen regional innovation ecosystems, close innovation gaps and improve Europe's innovation performance by networking its key innovation players.
