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Berlin - A region of excellence for innovative start-ups
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Berlin is the German capital and is also the largest city in Germany. It extends over an area of about 889 square kilometres and is therefore as large as Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt combined. Berlin is both a federal state and a city and once again, Berlin is the administrative capital of Germany with the Reichstag, the German national parliament, being resituated in Berlin after reunification. The population in Berlin, although in slight decline is still a massive 3.3 million people. The population of Berlin resides in 12 boroughs, each containing roughly 300 000 residents.
Since reunification, Berlin has once again become central to European activities, turning it from a symbol of division into a bridge that spans eastern European and western European economies. Being one of the major capital cities in the world, Berlin attracts many of the worlds leading global corporations. There is a huge wealth of expertise in a very broad range of industry sectors.
More than 350 000 Berlin residents have qualifications from higher education institutions. There are three universities and fourteen colleges attended by approximately 135 000 students, which makes the proportion of students in Berlin higher than the national average. Due to the broad scientific infrastructure and the strength in scientific disciplines of the major higher education institutes, there are very favourable conditions for companies orientated towards research and technology.
The economic development of Berlin has been furthered by the high creation rate of new companies in the science and technology sector. Berlin is the most productive region in Germany in terms of starting innovative companies, with 89 new enterprises being set up for every 10,000 inhabitants. In addition to this the year 2000 saw 64 existing companies move to the Berlin region.
Sectors of industry that are of particular importance to the Berlin economy include the service industry, employing in the region of 600 000, the information technology, communication and multimedia sectors, where approximately 73,000 are employed in about 4,000 primarily small and medium-sized companies. |
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Public support in research and development
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Berlin can boast particularly successful industry sectors in the areas of medical and biological technology, transport innovations, IT and telecommunications and media services. These industries are supported by exceptional educational and research centres that provide a steady supply of highly trained individuals that go on to work within, and often create, innovative SMEs.
The Berlin economy is predominately populated by small and medium-sized companies. The Government policies are aimed at stabilising the competitiveness of small business and thus to an extent, the Berlin economy, by promoting innovation activities. Berlin has a large number of programmes and initiatives that aim to assist in developing and sustaining small and medium sized enterprises. Financial support is given to science parks and business centres and venture capital is made available to encourage the foundation of innovative start-ups. Berlin State initiatives are seeking to establish links between those in trade and industry with the research and development areas in and around Berlin. |
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R&D institutes, Universities, Scientific Parks and Incubators
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Berlin is a centre for academia within Germany and indeed within Europe. It has 3 universities, 10 specialist colleges, 4 art colleges and over 80 research centres. Within these establishments there are about 50,000 people researching, developing and innovating future technologies, products and pathways.
The region has nurtured a close working relationship between the universities and colleges and the 250 non-university research institutions. By forging partnerships between the public, private and academic institutions funding opportunities, scientific know-how and good business practices can be pooled and the performance of all actors can be enhanced. The Berlin region is investing over 3.5 billion DM in science and research;
The Adlershof science and business complex (WISTA) is situated in the south-east of Berlin. It is a complex comprised of a ‘ScienceCity’, a ‘MediaCity’, an Industrial park and also Humboldt University. It also has its own recreational park. Other facilities include conference centres, a hotel and municipal services such as the innovation and communication centre and the Berlin incubator. Aldershof’s aim is to become the leading technology park in Europe, a dynamic centre for science, technology and media.
Within Aldershof there are 358 innovative companies and 13 non-university research institutions employing a total of 5,200 highly qualified personnel. There are several high-technology centres within the park, providing state of the art in the areas of information and media, photonics and optical sciences, materials and microsystems and environmental- and bio- technologies. Aldershof also recognises the need to bring together innovation with media and marketing expertise in order to maximise the potential of innovative start-ups. In Aldershof, there is access to international marketing tools and established networks allowing innovative companies greater sophistication in the way in which they promote themselves.
By 2010 Aldershof hopes to have vastly expanded its scope and scale. A DM900 million investment between 2000-2006 will create university institutes, leisure facilities, housing and media centres. It aims to have 17 000 employed in private enterprises as well as 3000 scientific research and teaching staff and 5000 students.
The Humboldt University is one example of how relationships between academic institutions and private ventures can achieve synergy, reduce costs and facilitate the transfer of the results of research to industrial applications. The University, by relocating its major scientific faculties to the Adlershof campus, has been able to tap in to the concentration of business and research resources on the site. Institutes of the University situated at Aldershof include Computer Sciences, Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics. Institutes for Geography and Biology will be completed in 2003 and 2007 respectively.
The north of the city is host to the Berlin-Buch campus, a research centre for biological medicines and medical science. Buch has the highest concentration of clinics, biomedical institutions and new and innovative biotechnology companies in the Federal Republic of Germany. |
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