Explore Germany's leading innovation ecosystems: a visit by the UCA delegation to Stuttgart

🇩🇪 From 18 to 22 May, representatives of Ukrainian clusters, regional development agencies, government officials, and the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance traveled to the federal state of Baden-Württemberg as part of the ClustersBridge international mission.

Representing the AIM Cluster, Roman Melnyk, director of the Vinnytsia IT Academy, joined the delegation. He coordinates a number of initiatives in the field of intellectual capital development in Ukraine.

Goal of the business trip:

• learn about the work of regional innovation ecosystems in the EU;

• gain an understanding of how cluster support mechanisms function;

• explore the role of regional institutions in ecosystem development;

• establish new partnerships and develop project ideas for the next phase of Clusters4Regions.

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Together with the delegates, he had the opportunity to visit the following companies and organizations:

1. VDC Fellbach – one of Europe's largest XR clusters;

📍 XR refers to virtual, extended, and mixed reality technologies. Today, they are primarily used for training engineers, creating digital production models, staff training, and testing complex technical systems.

2. ARENA2036 – a unique platform where companies, universities, and research centers collaborate on the technologies of the future;

📍 The greatest value of this center lies in the collaboration between various companies and institutions in a single open space – something virtually unseen on this scale anywhere else.

3. Transformotive – regional platform for industry transformation in the city of Heilbronn;

📍 Its main goal is to help small and medium-sized enterprises adapt to technological changes, find new markets, implement innovations, and develop the skills needed to succeed in today's economy.

4. E-Mobil BW – the state agency of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg responsible for coordinating the development of innovative industries;

📍 The organization brings together business, academia, and government to advance electric mobility, digital technologies, hydrogen energy, and other promising fields.

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Key insights:

• The development of ecosystems depends on a balance between the influence of regional and cluster policies, cluster and business strategies, and, of course, capable institutions;

• Equally important is the proper distribution of roles among institutions and ecosystem actors;

• The most significant factor in the effectiveness of strategies is a focus on the transformational processes of economic sectors and the role of clusters in these processes as drivers of innovation and catalysts for transformation.

Contact info: ceo@aimcluster.org