Kick off "Food Valley Kulmbach"

"The project strengthens the start-up and innovation activities of students and researchers with the help of various measures such as competitions, programs and event formats. We can now make ideal use of the experience and structures in supporting start-ups that we have built up at the campus in Bayreuth for the campus in Kulmbach," says Dr. Petra Beermann, Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (IEI). The integration of entrepreneurship and innovation into the existing degree programs and courses plays a key role in underlining the relevance of these topics. This area is supervised by Prof. Dr. Rebecca Preller, Chair of Entrepreneurial Behavior: "I am very pleased to encourage and enable students in Kulmbach to set up their own companies in the food sector, so that many new start-ups will enrich the region."

"The faculty in Kulmbach offers the ideal breeding ground for innovation thanks to its interdisciplinary and, above all, international orientation," explains Christian Fikar, Professor of Food Supply Chain Management and partner in this strategically important project. This is coupled with the important role that the city of Kulmbach plays as one of the most important centers of the food industry in Bavaria: Several medium-sized companies in the food industry, some of which operate globally, as well as various research institutes and authorities are based in the district town. The new faculty in Kulmbach already has a strong network in the region and is providing new impetus through research and teaching.

The development of Kulmbach into a beacon for innovations in the food sector with national and international appeal is supported by the Upper Franconia Foundation (Bayreuth) and the Adalbert Raps Foundation (Kulmbach). "The emerging Food Valley Kulmbach offers outstanding opportunities for overcoming current and future social and economic challenges. The University of Bayreuth is therefore heavily involved in the project," says University President Dr. Stefan Leible. Chancellor Dr. Nicole Kaiser also welcomes the fact that funding for this important structural project is now underway: "Our thanks go to the two foundations and the parliamentary groups of the Free Voters and CSU, who also supported the funding. The parliamentary groups applied for 240,000 euros to be made available from Bavarian budget funds for the Kulmbach campus. Politicians are thus also sending a clear signal for this important project and the Kulmbach campus."