RWTH to Collaborate With Maschinenraum

The transformation ecosystem brings together more than 70 family businesses and university partners.

 

RWTH Aachen University becomes a collaborative partner of the transformation ecosystem Maschinenraum. The alliance of more than 70 family businesses, university partners, and other innovators is working together to transform family businesses in Germany. The key idea of the collaboration is to better integrate scientific findings and practical experience, creating added value for all partners involved. The University strives to develop viable, sustainable, and responsible solutions to global challenges and to turn ideas into innovations. The partnership with Maschinenraum is now another component of these efforts.

“We at RWTH aspire to create new knowledge that truly advances society,” says RWTH Rector Ulrich Rüdiger. “We are aware that we cannot achieve this on our own. In order to create real impact, we must work together with all sectors of society. To fully capture the perspective of the German economy, it is essential to engage with family businesses. Maschinenraum provides us with a platform to do so.”

Maschinenraum is a shared innovation ecosystem for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – the so-called Mittelstand – which contributes to shaping the future of the German economy. Already, more than 70 family-owned companies, including Viessmann, Fiege Logistik, Mann+Hummel, Stihl, and uvex, have joined Maschinenraum to jointly drive the digital and sustainable transformation of SMEs in Germany.

According to Tobias Rappers, co-managing director of Machinenraum, RWTH, with its key research areas in technology and engineering, adds particular value to the network. “German industry and its supplier base are strongly characterized by family businesses. I have high hopes that we can bring together their experience with the forward-looking faculty and students of RWTH Aachen University.”