In keeping with its guiding principle of “Embracing collaboration and shaping innovation,” the EMPOWER project team met on the Mainz University of Applied Sciences campus on July 19 for a professional exchange followed by a summer party. Around 50 team members and interested guests first gathered in the auditorium to catch up on the status of the project.
During the short presentations, the diversity of EMPOWER’s topics was once again evident: The exciting and highly contemporary topics, some of which are already the subject of close and interdisciplinary collaboration between the partner universities, range from the optimization of data-driven production processes to the prevention of vocational training drop-outs in healthcare professions and the generation of electrical energy from hydrogen, as well as virtual crime scene analysis in cyber forensics and a New Work experimentation room.
In the afternoon, the informal closing event took place in the neighboring courtyard, where the barbecue was ready and the team was able to recharge their batteries and continue networking with coffee, refrigerated beverages, and delicious food from the buffet.
EMPOWER
Five Rhineland-Palatinate universities from Rheinhessen and the Vorderpfalz region are involved in the joint project, which was launched in January, each contributing a megatrend topic to the alliance. In addition to interdisciplinary networking and the research-based transfer of ideas, knowledge, and technology, the aim is also to develop a science-based innovation system for tackling current and future issues across universities and together with collaboration partners from the society, science, busines,s and culture sectors.
The EMPOWER joint project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the Innovative Hochschule funding line for a period of five years. The project involves Mainz University of Applied Sciences (Connectivity), Mainz Catholic University of Applied Sciences (Health), Bingen Technical University of Applied Sciences (Sustainability), Worms University of Applied Sciences (Cyber Security), and Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (New Work).