28 August 2024

The first advisory board meeting of hike (University Incubator for Entrepreneurship) took place at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences on 20 August 2024. The project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, has established a StartupLab at the university since mid-2020 and has demonstrably strengthened the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at the university. Specifically, over 1,000 people have taken part in the hike events, more than 25 start-up projects have been supported and 5 start-ups have emerged from the activities. The vision of the hike is to initiate a small economic miracle in the north of Thuringia in the 2030s.

in front of the Hike Lab from left to right: Prof. Dr Jörg Wagner (HS NDH), Jonas Mielke (hike), Sharon Keegan (hike), Prof. Dr Lutz Göcke (hike), Christian Zoll (hike), Jana Zöller (EVN), Wolf Goertz (Future Forest Initiative), Franziska Baum (MdL, FDP), Karl-Heinz Land (Neuland AI AG), Burkhard Zinner, Johanna Vargas (hike), Dr Ralf Kuschnereit (Jenoptik AG), Dr Kareen Schlangen (HS NDH), Thomas Herwig (HS NDH), Prof. Dr Andreas Seidel (inklukids; HS NDH), District Administrator Matthias Jendricke (LK Nordhausen); not in the picture: Jakob Janssen (Readay; HS NDH), Thomas Fülder (Dori; HS NDH). (Photo: HSN | Photomontage District Administrator Jendricke © Marco Kneise)

"According to the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung Bonn, Thuringia is in last place in a state comparison when it comes to the number of start-ups per 10,000 inhabitants in 2022. More than 4 out of 5 founders have an academic degree, which makes universities the nucleus for start-ups," said Prof Dr Lutz Göcke - founder of the hike - in his analysis at the start of the advisory board meeting. "With 396th place out of 400, the Prognos Zukunftsatlas 2022 attests that the district of Nordhausen has poor future prospects and little economic dynamism," he continues. The legitimacy of a project like hike should therefore be beyond question. However, the funding from the federal government ends at the end of 2025, which is why the advisory board for the strategic direction was convened, which is made up of experts from near and far. District Administrator Matthias Jendricke, President of Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences Prof Dr Jörg Wagner and Jana Zöller, Managing Director of EVN, are members of the hike advisory board. It is completed by Dr Ralf Kuschnereit (CEO, Jenoptik AG), Karl-Heinz Land from Cologne (founder of neuland.ai AG, author and investor), Burkard Zinner (Head of Department, TMWWDG), Franziska Baum (FDP Member of Parliament) and the entrepreneur Wolf Görtz (Netrox & Future Forest Initiative).

A region shapes its future: visions and concrete steps

The advisory board meeting focussed on analysing potential in the interaction between the university, business and politics. Those present agreed: "The opportunity to position North Thuringia through technological innovation is tangible," as Prof Dr Jörg Wagner summed up. "A real economic miracle is possible if you want it and do it," said Karl-Heinz Land, who built up Oracle's sales organisation in Europe when the company had just over 10 employees in Germany.

Concrete ideas and roadmaps were developed in intensive working groups to address the challenges of the incubator and at the same time strengthen the region in the long term. The ideas ranged from specialising in generative AI and social innovations to the creation of an innovation hub and the introduction of agile structures in the administration that enable closer integration with the economy and its promotion.

7.5 million euros - investment in the best ideas

A particular highlight of the meeting was the evaluation of the developed target images. In a playful but highly symbolic act, the advisory board members awarded a total of 7.5 million euros - in Monopoly money - to three specific scenarios for further development. Although this was a playful investment, it helped to identify the potential for ideas worthy of development, which the hike will now continue to work on. "Northern Thuringia needs creative, bold approaches in order to position itself as a resilient and future-proof innovation region," reports Dr Ralf Kuschnereit.

The future is not just for the Jena and Erfurt conurbations

The day was rounded off in the evening with a lively panel discussion on the topic of the "Economic Miracle of Northern Thuringia" at Charlie's restaurant, which also addressed the mentality barriers in the region. It became clear that there are people in Northern Thuringia who are willing to actively shape the future - but they often come up against entrenched structures and sensitivities that are not conducive to the cause and therefore not conducive to the region.

Karl-Heinz Land put it in a nutshell: "Technological progress and innovation is one of the pillars on which prosperity is based - and today this applies not only to urban centres, but also to rural areas." This statement emphasises the ambitions of the university with the hike and the Transferwerk to lead northern Thuringia to an economic miracle in cooperation with business and politics.

A strong signal from northern Thuringia

"We need the cooperation of all stakeholders in the region to give the necessary transformation of our home region a chance," as Axel Heck explained in the panel discussion. With a clear focus on the opportunities and a strong network of business, academia, politics and society, Northern Thuringia has the potential to write a new chapter in its economic history. The first players (such as Sebastian Gerecke (ATURIS), Holger Richter (Jugendsozialwerk), Jörg Wagner (Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences), Matthias Jendricke (District Administrator of Nordhausen), Jana Zöller (EVN), Matthias Kurras (Maximator-Hydrogen) and Franziska Baum (FDP Member of Parliament) have already signed a voluntary commitment to actively work on the economic miracle of Northern Thuringia.

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