Berlin on its way to becoming a digital capital - be

Berlin on its way to becoming a digital capital
The 10-point Berlin agenda
Digitalization is the revolution of the 21st century, bringing radical changes in everyday life,
communication as well as work and production processes. There is scarcely any area of
society which is not affected. At the same time, digitalization offers the German economy
extraordinary opportunities for innovation and growth.
Berlin has set itself the goal of becoming the digital capital of Germany, and the driving force
in this development. This goal is based on Berlin’s existing strengths, as a smart city, a
leading location for scholarship and research, a creative hotspot, one of the top 10 start-up
metropolises worldwide, and an outstanding meeting point for new and established
industries.
In recent months, on the initiative of the Governing Mayor, Michael Müller, and the President
of the TU Berlin, Christian Thomsen, representatives from academia, business and politics
have worked together in the Berlin working group for digitalization, developing and agreeing
on specific digitalization projects. Talent, infrastructure, and frameworks are being prepared
for the Digital Age. Relevant federal funding for the implementation of these projects is
reflected in the budget. In addition to this, private funds will also contribute to the realization
of the projects – thus the 10-point agenda will be jointly financed by the public and private
sectors.
A communication campaign will be run to inform Berliners about the opportunities and
challenges of digitalization.
01. Berlin will create 30 new IT professorships
Berlin will begin by creating 30 new professorships – 25 junior professorships and five W2
professorships. These will be distributed among the Berlin universities and universities of
applied sciences, on the basis of content-related criteria, sometimes in partnership with nonuniversity research facilities. The professorships will function as drivers of digitalization
projects and academic networking in Berlin. They will offer cutting-edge stimuli to established
research areas, and will work at the interfaces between the disciplines involved.
A strong foundation for Berlin’s transformation into a digital capital is the diversity of our
academic landscape. Thus the technically oriented professorships in IT, relating to smart
cities and Industry 4.0, big data, cloud computing, mobile technologies, smart mobility or 3D
technologies, will generally be based at the Technische Universität Berlin (TU), while the
humanities and social science subjects, such as digital humanities, digital democracy,
digitalization in schools, or digital policies and trust, as well as the professorships on the topic
of e-health and smart medical data, will be based at the Freie Universität Berlin (FU), the
Humboldt-Universität Berlin (HU), and the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité). For
mathematical and scientific subjects, all of the three major universities would be equally
suitable. The University of the Arts (UdK) will provide expertise in the areas of design,
human-computer interaction, and communication technology. The universities of applied
c/o Technische Universität Berlin, Der Präsident, Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen
Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin
Telefon: +49 (0)30 314-0
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sciences will complete the portfolio with their experience in application-oriented teaching and
research in their respective areas.
02. Berlin will apply to the Einstein Foundation to establish a “Digital Future” centre.
The new IT professorships will be assigned to the participating universities, and the
appointments will be made there. Direct interaction between these professorships, between
new and existing subject areas, and between the different professions and disciplines will
generate additional stimuli, and innovative approaches. Under the leadership of the
Technische Universität Berlin, the participating universities will submit a proposal to the
Einstein Foundation for a “Digital Future” centre. With this “Digital Future” centre, Berlin will
be creating something that is unique in Germany: an inter-university nucleus for digitalization.
The financing of the 30 professorships will be organized through the Einstein Centre for the
“Digital Future”. The positions will be funded by the participating companies and nonuniversity research facilities, which have already pledged funds for over 20 junior
professorships, as well as by the federal state of Berlin. Further professorships are still in the
consultation process.
Berlin will establish a comprehensive “open access culture” for the publicly funded areas of
scholarship and culture. Based on the “Open Access Strategy for Berlin”, adopted by the
Berlin Senate in October, free and equal access to scholarly publications will be expanded.
The federal state of Berlin will set up an Open Access office to achieve this.
03. Berlin will bring the best digital minds to the capital
Berlin’s scholarly excellence in the field of digitalization will be given a long-term boost by the
temporary appointment of exceptional individuals as visiting fellows. Berlin is an attractive
location for Alexander von Humboldt fellows, recipients of ERC Advanced Grants, and
foreign researchers. To begin with, three top academics will be brought to Berlin through the
Einstein Foundation Berlin. This measure will also contribute to the global recognition and
visibility of Berlin’s digitalization strategy.
Projects 1-3 require overall funding of 5 million euros per year for 6 years (in the first
instance). These 5 million euros can be broken down into money for the new professorships,
staff and facilities (research assistants, consumables, and investment resources), the
Einstein Visiting Fellows, and a coordinating office. Further funds will be made available for
the Open Access office.
04. Berlin will be investing in future technology 5G
In Berlin, new solutions are being discovered on a daily basis, solutions which place high
demands on the communication infrastructure with regard to real time, high upstream and
downstream data rates, quality of service, robustness and reliability. As the next
technological standard for the network of the future, the 5G network offers a wealth of new
application options, such as multimodal transport support in real time, autonomous driving, or
augmented reality solutions. It also offers applications for the Internet of Things, and in the
c/o Technische Universität Berlin, Der Präsident, Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen
Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin
Telefon: +49 (0)30 314-0
E-Mail: [email protected]
area of health. As a digital capital, Berlin will be the first metropolis in Europe to test and roll
out this new standard, thus blazing a trail for future digital infrastructure.
Berlin has 48 registered “technology centres”, i.e. centres of the digital economy and
Zukunftsorte (“future places”: locations with the potential for or with actually existing network
structures between science and business). All these locations will be taken into
consideration; then suitable candidates will be identified for further broadband expansion and
connection. The testing of the new technologies and their possible applications will help to
facilitate a future 5G network which is “information-friendly”, in terms of information content,
context and user preferences. This testing will first take place in selected trial areas, such as
CleanTech Businesspark Berlin-Marzahn, Campus Charlottenburg, in the area around the
former Tempelhof airport, on the section of motorway connecting the future Berlin airport with
the central city, and on the grounds of the former Tegel airport, which is to be transformed
into the Urban Tech Republic. This means that the first Berlin Zukunftsorte will be pilot
projects for a new 5G network. Once the test phase has been successfully completed, it is
anticipated that the new technology will be extended to the whole metropolitan area.
The federal state will support the projects in the use of public buildings, street lamps, and
multifunctional enclosures for the installation of testbeds or antennae, as well as in the rollout of technologies in public spaces. To ensure that the pilot projects are implemented as
quickly and smoothly as possible, a service provider will be tasked with launching a call for
tenders for 5G.
Furthermore, Berlin’s state investment portfolio, with an accumulated annual budget of
around two billion euros, is becoming increasingly open to digital applications. To facilitate
this, strategic links will be established between Berlin’s state-owned enterprises, its
academic and research institutions, and start-ups. This will give researchers and start-ups
the opportunity to have their digital solutions put into practice, while increasing the innovative
capacity of the state-owned enterprises. A launch event will be organized in 2016, in
collaboration with the Berlin Startup Unit.
05. Research hub Berlin will improve its e-health capabilities
The Charité hospital, together with the Berlin Institute of Health, the federal state of Berlin,
and industry partners, is working to set up digital patient records. The aim is to considerably
improve interoperability, user friendliness and transparency, allowing doctors, nurses,
researchers and patients to access information about the status and methods of treatment.
This will give fast, mobile access to insights and findings from medical practice and research,
during diagnosis and therapy – while respecting the principles of data protection. It will help
to develop care plans that are agreed on by all the actors involved (doctors, nurses, social
workers, health insurers and pharma companies). This development of e-health capabilities
will further boost the international standing of Berlin’s healthcare industry.
06. Berlin will improve prospects for women in IT research
Digitalization offers opportunities to women as well as men. An interdisciplinary and gendercritical approach to the topic has been proven to lead to higher levels of innovation and
quality. Nonetheless, women are still clearly in the minority in IT research.
c/o Technische Universität Berlin, Der Präsident, Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen
Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin
Telefon: +49 (0)30 314-0
E-Mail: [email protected]
The Berlin Working Group on Digitalization is therefore supporting a proposal within the
framework of the Berlin Equal Opportunities Programme (BCP) for a training and qualification
programme for postdocs and female doctoral candidates. The plan is to raise funds for at
least ten positions for women who want to earn their Habilitation (advanced postdoc
qualification) in the area of digitalization.
A structured training and qualification programme of this kind will not only assist in the
recruitment and further qualification of young women researchers, but will also help them to
develop networks. Alongside the postdoc positions for the universities, the programme is
also intended to facilitate collaborative doctorates with the participating Berlin universities of
applied sciences.
07. Berlin will apply for “excellence” projects
Next year, when submissions for the “Excellence Initiative” are called for, the Berlin
universities and Charité will prepare a joint proposal on digitalization. In this competition, the
topic of digitalization is ideal for a joint Berlin proposal of this kind. This is because it has a
breadth of content that touches on nearly all areas of scholarship, technology and society,
and it is precisely this diversity that constitutes one of the region’s major strengths as a
research hub.
This proposal will be complemented by the application for a national “Internet Institute” for
research questions relating to the digital society, bringing together further local actors. The
Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) has already called for research
proposals for this institute. The most important institutions from the Berlin and Brandenburg
scholarship and research scene have joined forces for this. Members of the core team, which
is working on a preliminary outline for a Berlin institute for digitalization and society, are
Gesche Joost (UdK) as spokesperson, Jeanette Hofmann (Berlin Social Science Center
(WZB) and Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG)), Axel Metzger (HU), Barbara
Pfetsch and Martin Emmer (FU Berlin), Ina Schieferdecker (TU Berlin and Fraunhofer
FOKUS), Björn Scheuermann (HU), and Oliver Günther (Potsdam University).
08. Berlin will boost digital content in initial and continuing vocational training
Digitalization is not only changing career profiles in the university environment; it also means
new requirements for Ausbildungsberufe (recognized occupations requiring formal vocational
training). Business and social partners, and also chambers of industry and commerce, will
therefore develop new training modules on digitalization within the framework of existing
occupations, as well as establishing – where necessary – completely new occupations.
Representatives of start-ups, established businesses and the public administration will also
be involved in this process. A relevant project group will be formed in 2016.
Employees in the civil service, the biggest service provider in Berlin, will receive technical
and methodological support in the development and use of digital services and products. The
Verwaltungsakademie Berlin (Berlin Academy of Public Administration) will support the
development of relevant skills in Berlin’s public agencies with existing and new programmes.
The new programmes will be particularly aimed at (young) managers, and will have a
substantial practical component, e.g. one-day work placements in Berlin start-ups.
c/o Technische Universität Berlin, Der Präsident, Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen
Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin
Telefon: +49 (0)30 314-0
E-Mail: [email protected]
09. Berlin is paving the way for a digital CityLAB
The Berlin CityLAB Berlin will be a place where the focus is on imagining and developing
application-oriented solutions in the thematic areas of digitalization and the smart city, and
discussing these solutions with regard to their practical feasibility. Here scholars, creative
thinkers and representatives of urban society will identify practical, everyday challenges
facing the growing city of Berlin, and work on intelligent solutions and examples of
implementation for innovative products and processes.
The Berlin CityLAB is thus conceived as an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental institution,
in which, for example, urban planners, engineers and creative workers, as well as
established industries and start-ups, will work together in cooperative and unconventional
ways, thinking outside the box. At the same time, the LAB will serve as an open forum for
exchanging information and opinions on urban planning policy with Berlin’s citizens. The
Berlin CityLAB borrows various lab concepts from, for example, UdK, TUB, Fraunhofer and
other actors, and offers them a shared home. A joint location for the CityLAB, the Open
Access office, the offices of the Einstein Centre, and the activities being carried out in the city
will allow communication between researchers, and ensure close coordination of the different
building blocks of the digitalization strategy.
The decision-making process about the specific details of the LAB idea is intended to be
open and transparent, involving the participation of universities, scholarly institutions, young
enterprises and also established businesses which are open to new developments. Berlin’s
Senate Chancellery has tasked two organizations with the development of a corresponding
concept: Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie (Berlin Partners for Business and
Technology) and Technologiestiftung Berlin (Berlin Technology Foundation).
10. Berlin is focusing its funding programmes on digitalization
Advances in productivity due to digitalization and Industry 4.0 offer great potential and
opportunities for Berlin as a business location. The federal state of Berlin and the
Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) are therefore expanding their funding provision in the digital
area, and supporting innovative start-ups as well as the digitalization of the broad
Mittelstand. Besides the focus on digital companies from the ICT cluster, other industries will
also be encouraged to invest in the use and adaptation of IT solutions and in digital
networking in manufacturing and services.
For example, the programme known as GWR (Joint Task for the Improvement of Regional
Economic Structures), which offers investment subsidies to commercial enterprises, has
already been opened to previously excluded business models in the digital economy.
Software and internet-based ICT companies can now benefit from the subsidy programme,
even if they derive their revenue from commission earnings. The threshold for wage
subsidies has also been lowered.
In addition to this, a new credit scheme with the theme “Mittelstand 4.0” is planned for the
second half of 2016. “Berlin Mittelstand 4.0” is intended to finance investments in expansion
and innovative technologies for companies with up to 3000 employees, in the manufacturing
industries, the IT sector, and the service industry.
c/o Technische Universität Berlin, Der Präsident, Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen
Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin
Telefon: +49 (0)30 314-0
E-Mail: [email protected]
The focus is on investments in digitalization and Industry 4.0 solutions, which are complex
enough to require funding and risk-sharing partnerships. If a company applies to its own
bank for a loan of between 2 and 6 million euros, this bank will be given a favourable
refinancing rate by the IBB and released from 60 % of its liability. For funding needs of less
than 2 million euros, SMEs will still be able to use the services of the Bürgschaftsbank
(guarantee bank), and for especially innovative companies there will be a successor product
to Berlin Kredit Innovativ, available from 1 April 2016.
c/o Technische Universität Berlin, Der Präsident, Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen
Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin
Telefon: +49 (0)30 314-0
E-Mail: [email protected]