TAO building at the University of Bayreuth filled with life

During his first visit to the University of Bayreuth, Bavarian Science Minister Markus Blume was enthusiastic about the exemplary cooperation of the four Upper Franconian universities manifested in the TAO building. "The basic idea, the implementation, the perspectives: Everything about the TAO building breathes progress and future. The high-tech heart of 'TechnologieAllianzOberfranken' already beats here," said Bavarian Science Minister Markus Blume. "Thanks to the excellent cooperation of the four Upper Franconian universities and powerful funding in the millions from the state government, an innovative think tank has been created completely in the spirit of Premier Dr. Markus Söder's High-Tech Agenda and our planned Higher Education Innovation Act. Future technologies made in Upper Franconia are being created here in close cooperation between top-level research, across disciplines, university types, and regional industry."

"In 2015, we laid the foundation stone for the TAO building and created a new space for science in Upper Franconia," said University President Prof. Dr. Stefan Leible. "It is important for the TAO ideal to be increasingly filled with life, and for the centre of science Upper Franconia to be so visibly expanded." TAO focuses on the areas of energy and mobility, as well as the three cross-sectional technologies of materials, information technology (IT)/sensor technology, and people and technology. The area of people and technology, in particular, reflects the topic of demographic change in the context of energy and transport, so decisive for Upper Franconian universities, and includes the cross-technological issues at the interface of technology and society.

The fact that the cooperation of the University of Bayreuth with the University of Bamberg, Coburg University of Applied Sciences, and Hof University of Applied Sciences has been so successful since its founding in 2011 is due to the involvement of many minds. Among them Dr Markus Zanner (then Provost of the University of Bayreuth), and Christof Präg from the State BuildingAauthority in Bayreuth. In a discussion hosted by Provost Dr Nicole Kaiser, they reported on the history of TAO's origins and the strategic and conceptual planning of the cooperation.

"The history of TAO shows that there have been many hurdles to overcome. But if you look around here, you can see that the work was worth it," Kaiser said. "I am pleased that with the TAO building we have simultaneously opened up the southern campus of the University of Bayreuth. It's great that the scientists of TechonologieAllianzOberfranken now have a physical home on campus."

In the afternoon, the building opened its doors to the public.