universities should be more active, to regional developments. The suspended regions are not allowed to descend further.

A high-Bahn in Dortmund, Germany: Connects the University and the technology centre photo: Anja Cord/imago

BERLIN taz | Can science of Germany, "suspended" preserve regions from further economic decline and political radicalization? At the Berlin transfer conference of the higher education Alliance for the middle class in this week's earlier concepts of regional development were compared by science with today's challenges of structural change. The result is that The universities belong at the centre of social innovation processes and these have to drive a lot more active.

Guido Baranowski, head of the largest German technology centre in Dortmund, reminded of the first Carbon phase-out in the 80s. At that time the coal mines were shut down, steel production collapsed.

"Alone, in Dortmund, Germany, to 80,000 industrial jobs were lost," said Baranowski. For structural changes in the economy, 250 million euros were provided. For comparison: today, The brown-coal-phase-out in three regions with 86,000 jobs affected will be compensated with 40 billion euros. Baranowski was founded by the technology center, one of the first of its kind in Germany, the founder companies were growing and innovative industries such as biotechnology, took a walk. Today, 280 technology companies, with 9,500 employees are there in addition to the science.

The model of technology transfer from science to industry was exported in the 90s in the new länder of East Germany, but could not really contribute to inclusive structural change in the economy. Advice of the state Secretary from the Federal Ministry of education and research, Wolf-Dieter Lukas: "you must reach for the stars." That was good Talk for the Brandenburg's fresh-baked Minister of science, Manja schuele: For the transformation of the region Lusatia, huge sums are available soon, but there is just one University in Cottbus, the innovation germs could produce. The implementation structure is missing.

Fritz Rettberg, the dressed in of the city of Dortmund, the office of the "Chief Innovation Officer", propagated, therefore, the local path of modernization. Digitalisation, climate change, transport, turn, New Work, he cited as examples of the heightened pace of Transformation, the gather in the urban space: "The cities are now in the case of an emergency, where everything happens," says Rettberg. Therefore, the universities and research institutions should ensure "active cities", in order to make your Knowledge to be effective. In Dortmund, this had led around the "Smart City Alliance", which had made now 30 Digital projects.