connect.IT is well networked in Baden-Württemberg

The "smart businessIT" initiative, which was launched in 2011 by the state government together with strong partners to further develop Baden-Württemberg as an IT location, can look back on three successful years.

The regional IT networks from twelve regions throughout Baden-Württemberg involve players from industry, universities and research institutes as well as public institutions. The common goal is to strengthen the regions, learn from each other and continuously develop a strong state-wide community through regular network meetings and joint innovation projects.

Baden-Württemberg is one of the leading locations for information and communication technology (ICT) in Germany and Europe - with 15,000 companies with around 180,000 employees as well as 99 universities and research institutions and 70,000 students on ICT-related courses. In order to fully exploit the existing potential and ensure competitiveness in the future, the state government of Baden-Württemberg has launched a successful political project in a joint effort between the Ministry of Finance and Economics and the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts: the "smart businessIT" initiative.

During the press conference on November 6, 2014 in Karlsruhe, the official partnership agreement in the form of a certificate was presented to the network representatives present.

"Together, we have succeeded in initiating nuclei in all regions of the state that improve local cooperation between business and science," said Guido Rebstock, Ministerial Director at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. "With their cooperation agreement, the regional IT clusters are laying the foundation for mutual support and presenting themselves as important partners in the state initiative Forward IT, with which the Ministry of Finance and Economics and the Ministry of Science are promoting ICT in Baden-Württemberg," continued the Ministerial Director.

Figure: Representatives of the regional IT networks from twelve regions throughout Baden-Württemberg

"The state government's funding programs support us in the further development of measures to exchange knowledge and secure qualified IT specialists within our network and also enable us to initiate initial innovation projects in the region," says Frank Dörrstein, Deputy Chairman of connect.IT, and adds: "Despite the state-wide appeal of smart businessIT, we are integrated as a regional network on an equal footing and can therefore also represent the interests of our members at state level"