Technical colleges are drivers of innovation, says German minister
Germany's Education and Research Ministry has published a study illustrating the contribution that the country's technical colleges (Fachhochschule) make to innovation. Technical colleges make up around half of Germany's higher education institutes. The education and training that they offer is more application-oriented and strictly organised than that at standard universities, and the courses are also shorter. A study by the Fraunhofer Institute for innovation research and systems technology found that between the years 2000 and 2003 alone, around 6,000 research and development R&D projects were started in technical colleges. Those in Aachen, Cologne, Jena and Wismar were particularly active. 'Technical colleges have built up sustainable competences in innovation, and thus assure a constant stream of knowledge and technology into the economy,' said German Education and Research Minister, Edelgard Bulmahn. The minister believes that the colleges have been able to achieve such positive results because of the way in which they maintain a close link between science and practice in their courses. Other contributing factors include the experience that the professors have accumulated working outside academia and the unbureaucratic way in which R&D projects can be carried out in conjunction with regional businesses. 'Both sides profit from this cooperation,' said Ms Bulmahn. 'Business benefits from new blood, which is oriented towards research, and the technical colleges are close the innovation activities of companies.' Looking to the future, Ms Bulmahn said that technical colleges now need to market their competences more actively, and to direct themselves more towards the demand of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). She also declared that the new ministry programme 'Research at technical colleges in collaboration with business' will improve cooperation and the transferral of know-how into products.
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