In addition to their teaching mission, universities of applied sciences have had a clear research mission since the turn of the millennium at the latest. The Campus for Applied Research at FHWS reflects a central change in the German research landscape.
It is still a widespread cliché that research should be done at universities in Germany and that teaching should be done at universities of applied sciences. But this has not been the case for a long time: due to the restructuring of the polytechnics to be "universities of applied sciences" since the 1990s, research has also become increasingly important here. But where new responsibilities arise, new structures are also needed: researchers should be supported in the application process, inventors should be advised and spin-off companies should be given professional support. At FHWS, the Campus for Applied Research takes these challenges into account. The history of the Campus for Applied Research thus also reflects a central change in the research landscape in Germany.
Research for tomorrow's society
As early as the mid-2000s, the research mission of universities of applied sciences was also enshrined in law and has since been repeatedly confirmed – most recently by the Hightech Agenda, through which the Land of Bavaria has been providing research impetus for an advanced, technological, but also more sustainable society since 2019. "The Campus for Applied Research was founded in 2017 as an extended successor unit to the Department of Applied Research with the aim of promoting research at FHWS by providing administrative support to researchers. This is particularly important at present with the strong support for universities of applied sciences – and thus also for FHWS – in the field of research, knowledge and technology transfer through the Land of Bavaria’s Hightech Agenda," stresses Vice President for Research, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hartmann.
However, the road to a central service unit for research, invention and start-up at FHWS was long. Today, seven employees work at the Campus for Applied Research. It started with just one research officer in 2008. Dr. Simone Heimpel remembers: "Before the Department for Applied Research, I, as a research officer, was solely responsible for research funding, research into subsidies and application support for all researchers at FHWS. At the same time, I was the inventor advisor and transfer officer for the entirety of FHWS, and in 2009 and 2010 I was also responsible for the founding teams’ applications." With increasing research activities at FHWS, the volume of tasks to be managed also increased enormously in subsequent years, so that it soon became clear that this volume of tasks would no longer be manageable with only a 50 percent position in the research department. That was the actual start of the now newly founded Department of Applied Research.
Research focuses emerge
In subsequent years, the Department of Applied Research supported the FHWS researchers in obtaining third party funds for research projects. Today, the research projects at FHWS can be divided into three main areas: "Energy technology and energy efficiency", "People and mobility" and, since 2018, "Digital and intelligent systems". The development of the first two research focuses can be directly linked to the third-party funds obtained. "In 2009, the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and the Arts announced the 'Programme for the Promotion of Applied Research and Development at polytechnics – Universities of applied sciences' for the second time. FHWS has successfully submitted two applications in the third pillar 'Research focuses for the expansion of research structures'," says Dr.Simone Heimpel. Prof. Dr. Andreas Küchler and Prof. Dr. Walter Kullmann were each able to obtain 600,000 euros in funding for FHWS with their research projects – thus laying the foundation for the "Energy Technology and Energy Efficiency" and "People and Mobility” research focuses.
Another field of activity has also gained in importance: start-up consulting and support. This is also a response to the Bavarian Higher Education Act and the Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act’s requirement for support of start-up activities at higher education institutions as part of the transfer of knowledge and technology: "Back in 2013, the start-up consulting service was located in what was then the Department of Applied Research. Start-up support measures allow for the knowledge imparted and research achievements to be used," explains start-up advisor Ulrike Machalett-Gehring. "Founders thus make an important contribution to the transfer of knowledge and technology in social discourse and to helping shape Bavaria's social, ecological and economic future. To this day, this service at Campus for Applied Research is gladly accepted by founders and has consequently been further expanded in recent times: since July 2020, the offering in the fields of networking, cultivating awareness and qualification of prospective founders from the area around FHWS has been expanded on a large scale through the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s EXIST Culture of Entrepreneurship project, EntrepreneurSHIP.
Focus on the idea of transfer
The idea of transfer has increasingly come to the fore in recent times: the Campus for Applied Research is intended for networking – with third-party donors and funding networks, but also with the researchers within FHWS, as Campus for Applied Research staff member Silke Spanfelner stresses: "The Campus for Applied Research tries to put the FHWS researchers in contact with each other through numerous events.” To this end, a discussion table for researchers is held every semester for all professors at FHWS who are interested in research. In addition, the Campus for Applied Research also participates in regional events such as the Mainfranken Transfer Forum, which is jointly organised by the Würzburg-Schweinfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce and Region Mainfranken GmbH. According to Spanfelner, the aim is "to get in touch with the regional economy and to identify points of contact for joint research projects".
Since December 2017, the former Department of Applied Research has been transformed into the Campus for Applied Research, which will be available in the future as a central hub for all research, invention and start-up activities. "The establishment of the Campus for Applied Research was a landmark decision. With this in mind, the Campus for Applied Research will continue to be developed in the future and adapted to precisely meet the needs of researchers," emphasises Vice President Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hartmann, thereby also outlining a vision for the Campus for Applied Research for the coming years: "The idea is to expand the Campus for Applied Research and, particularly with the resources from the Hightech Agenda, to make it available to researchers as quickly and purposefully as possible, thus ensuring the greatest possible leverage for FHWS’ research strength."
Further information
For current research projects, visit the website of the Campus for Applied Research .
HOMESIDE is one of the current projects which has already been presented in Fokus Orange. Read the article about the HOMESIDE project.
