international - Bergische Universität Wuppertal

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Regional technology and business clusters.
in the region, for the region, With the region
A university is good for
a region. It trains the
urgently needed managers
and specialists for regional industries
and enterprises and
draws young people into the
region. And a university is not
only an educational institution
and research partner, it is also
one of the region’s biggest
employers.
A lively, innovative, economi-
cally prosperous and geogra-
phically attractive region is
good for a university. It is re-
garded as an interesting place
to study and attracts potential
students. It offers good
prospects for graduates and
promotes the development of
education and research.
City, region and university are
closely interlinked and gain
from each other in many different
ways.
reseArCH driVinG
innoVAtion
The Bergisch Regional Insti-
tute of Product Development
and Innovation Management
is a joint foundation of the
University of Wuppertal (UW)
and regional industry for the
development of innovative
products; the Institute of
Security Systems is a foundation
devoted specifically
to innovative product development
for the lock and key
industry centered on nearby
Velbert-Heiligenhaus. Alongside
classical fundamental
research and the specific projects
of individual faculties,
UW conducts a great deal
of research in tandem with
regional enterprises. More
than 250 professors assisted
by some 800 other academic
staff in the university’s faculties,
research centers and institutes
provide unique competencies
on which local and
regional organizations can
call within the framework of
their R&D projects. Especially
for small and medium-sized
enterprises the university offers
excellent opportunities to
access leading-edge scientific
know-how for the solution
of individual problems.
reseArCH AreAs A to Z
UW’s research ranges from
astroparticle physics to zoology.
of particular interest to
the industrially focused economy
of the Bergisch region
are the science and engineering
faculties. Whether
it is a matter of enhancing
the efficiency of materials,
of occupational safety, traffic
and transportation safety, or
the development of systems,
products and machines for
the automotive, toolmaking
and mechanical engineering
industries, UW’s research
covers many areas central to
the regional economy. other
special research focuses are
on health systems, which –
along with sport, movement
and preventive medicine – are
of particular relevance for regional
health providers; and
on entrepreneurship, innovation
and economic change,
which directly promote the
economic wellbeing of the
region.
kwww.uni-wuppertal.de/forschung
reseArCH FundinG Ad-
ViCe For tHe AsKinG
As well as being a multi-face-
ted research partner, UW sup-
ports companies in the quest
for appropriate research funding
and related applications.
Projects geared to enhancing
regional competitive ability
and maintaining employment
have a good chance of qualifying
for the European Regional
Development Fund’s
“Ziel2” Program for the State
of North Rhine-Westphalia
(NRW). Another source of re-
search funding is the Federal
Ministry of Economics and
Technology’s Central Innovation
Program for Medium-
Sized Industries (ZIM). UW’s
expert in all questions of European,
federal, or state funding,
is Frank Jäger. Contact
him to find out which program
is best suited to your research
project.
kwww.ff.uni-wuppertal.de
best PrACtiCe
Cutting costs, conserving
resources, protecting
the environment, while
at the same time improving
quality: these are the
challenges facing manufacturing
industry today, and
they call for R&D capacities
that are often beyond the
reach of medium-sized companies.
Cooperation with UW
can help many regional enterprises
reach their goal.
A good example of longterm
collaboration between
university-based research
and regional industry is UW’s
cooperation with the textile
manufacturer Anton Cramer
from Greven – a mediumsized
enterprise producing
cotton fabrics for clothing, duvets
and mattress covers.
An initial project, oxitex, was
concerned with the develop-
ment of an oxidation process
for de-colorizing the water
used for dyeing and printing
textiles. The result enabled
Cramer to significantly reduce
water consumption and halve
heat input.
The current project, NEWtexINNo,
seeks innovative enhancement
methods for the
development of new technical
textiles. The project is funded
by the Federal Ministry of
Economics and Technology’s
Central Innovation Program
for Medium-Sized Industries
(ZIM).
Prof. Dr. Joachim M.
Marzinkowski
Tel. +49 (0)202 439-
2497 / -3456
E-mail marzinko@
uni-wuppertal.de
kwww.uch.uni-wuppertal.de
04_UW_REGIoNAL
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