With its "Social Innovation Hub Ludwigshafen" project, the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society prevailed over 87 universities and universities of applied sciences in the nationwide "Innovation Hubs @ Campus" competition organized by the Stifterverband and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation and will now receive 250,000 euros for implementation.
The Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society is the winner of the "Innovation Hubs @ Campus" competition organized by the Stifterverband and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation. With its project proposal of a "Social Innovation Hub Ludwigshafen" it was able to prevail in a nationwide competition against 87 universities and universities of applied sciences and receives 250,000 euros to implement its project.
"This is a wonderful success for our university, precisely because the connection between business and society, which is so important to us, was honored by the jury's decision," said university president Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra, expressing his delight at the success. Mudra had successfully presented the university's concept together with Vice President Prof. Dr. Ellen Bareis and innovation expert Prof. Dr. Stefan Lacher to the international jury in Berlin on Monday, March 25, 2019.
The Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Science, Prof. Dr. Konrad Wolf, congratulated the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society on its success in this prestigious and pioneering funding program, saying, "Universities are increasingly becoming key players in society and are making an impact in the region with their specialist expertise. HWG is taking up this challenge in a committed and innovative way. Thus, with the 'Social Innovation Lab', Ludwigshafen University is consistently continuing its chosen path as a university for society."
"The fact that we are now becoming active with a Social Innovation Lab directly in the city center is a huge opportunity for the city and the university," emphasizes Mudra. With representatives of civil society, he says, there is now a special opportunity to make Ludwigshafen's potential visible and to use it even better for the future.
The HWG LU project: "Social Innovation Lab - creative, cooperative and solution-oriented "
With this project, the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society sets itself the goal of developing social innovations in a lively exchange with Ludwigshafen's urban society and local and regional cooperation partners. In doing so, its students are given the space to become actively involved in solving current challenges and to become creative problem-solvers who are able to go beyond their professional horizons and confront complex problems with innovative methods and ideas.
With its renaming to "University for Business and Society", the university strategy focuses on interdisciplinary cooperation within the university in research and education and on dealing with social and economic challenges. The concept not only sustainably supports the university's development into a "University for Business and Society", but also strengthens and makes visible its impact, particularly within the city and the region. The university thus makes an active contribution to the development of the city and the utilization of its potential. The results can also be a starting point for other cities and communities.
At the heart of the concept is the Social Innovation Lab, which is to work systematically and with publicity throughout the university on challenges that are relevant from a scientific and social perspective. Cooperation partners, such as the city of Ludwigshafen, BASF or the AOK RLP and Saarland, participate in the development of relevant challenges. The heart of the Lab is the Creative Space in Ludwigshafen's city center. Here, university lecturers work with cooperation partners on issues for which the students and lecturers creatively develop solution ideas. They actively involve citizens by inviting them into the Creative Space for discussions or by conducting surveys and interviews "on the street". The results are presented to the cooperation partners and other interested parties in Innovation Talks and presented to the public. An interactive online platform enables broader communication with students, the urban community and stakeholders and interested parties outside the city. To empower students and as further elements with broad impact and sustainability, two modules with application in 6 bachelor and 6 master programs will be implemented curricularly. The development and implementation of innovation ideas will be supported by an interlocking with the university's start-up office and the establishment of a network of cooperations. A steering committee consisting of experts in social innovation and other members accompanies the project and at the same time supports the networking of all actors.
Thefunding program:
With the Innovation Hubs@Campus funding program, the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung and the Stifterverband support the establishment of new learning and experimentation spaces at universities, the so-called hubs. In this way, they support universities that are developing ideas to strategically position themselves as central players in the innovation system.
Technical contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Imke Buß
Department of Studies & Education
Tel. 0621/5203-254
E-mail: imke.buss@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de
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