Minister-President Jan Jambon opens new FIT Science & Technology Office in Munich
Munich, 14 October 2021 - A month after his trip to Copenhagen, Flanders’ Minister-President Jan Jambon has further reinforced his 'North Strategy' with a working visit to Munich on 13 and 14 October. In addition to bolstering diplomatic, cultural and economic contacts, he opened a brand-new Science & Technology Office with a focus on Digital & Health Tech.
It’s no coincidence that Minister-President Jambon's second foreign visit since the COVID-19 crisis has also taken him to Northern Europe. As with the Netherlands, the four Nordic countries, the three Baltic States and Ireland, Jan Jambon seeks to enter into a strong, sustainable partnership with Germany, including through trade and innovation.
Digital Tech: At the heart of the Industry 5.0 Ecosystem
Minister-President Jambon opened the new Science & Technology Office in Munich on Thursday 14 October 2021 in the presence of Dr. Ulrike Wolf, Secretary-general of the Bavarian State Ministry for Science, Media, Energy and Technology and Claire Tillekaerts, CEO of Flanders Investment & Trade. “To become one of the top 5 European innovative regions, marketing our technology is a crucial link,” emphasizes Minister-President Jan Jambon. “It’s a logical step therefore for us to also open a Science & Technology Office in Germany – Flanders’ leading export market and fourth country of origin for foreign direct investments – in addition to the existing economic representations in Berlin, Cologne and Stuttgart.”
Dr. Ulrike Wolf, secretaris-generaal van het Beiers Staatsministerie voor Wetenschap, Media, Energie, Pieter De Maeght technologieattaché (focus Digital Tech & Health Tech) in München, Vlaams Minister-president Jan Jambon en Claire Tillekaerts, CEO van Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT).
“The Munich ecosystem is a growing hotspot for Digital Tech, with a strong start-up community,” adds Pieter De Maeght. As technology attaché, De Maeght heads the new Science & Technology Office. “Munich is the ideal location to build a network, with both starters and mature companies as well as top research institutions. This industrial heart of Germany lives and breathes Industry 5.0, so there are many opportunities for economic and technological partnerships with players from Flanders.”
Health Tech: connecting with local innovation centers in life sciences and biotech
The Munich office will also cover commercial contacts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the DACH region). With regard to Health Tech, this region also offers many cooperation, export and investment opportunities for Flanders. Minister-President Jan Jambon: “Flanders is world renowned for its life sciences and biotech ecosystem. Thanks to the Science & Technology Office, we can connect even more efficiently with the main local players and innovation centers.”
Working visits to various tech players: from smart cities to brain surgery
The Science & Technology Office is based in the Atlas building in Munich’s Werksviertel. Several renowned companies from Flanders also have their headquarters there, including Guardsquare. In addition, Minister-President Jan Jambon made working visits to:
- Munich Colab from UnternehmerTUM, a brand-new location for entrepreneurs with a focus on urban mobility and smart cities (Digital Tech). UnternehmerTUM, founded by Susanne Klatten, pays special attention to 'female founders' and has several collaboration projects currently running with Flanders-based partners.
- Brainlab, a Bavarian Health Tech success story. The software company and hardware integrator is a leader in brain and spinal surgery. Several university hospitals in Flanders work with Brainlab.
- IBM Watson, the artificial intelligence division of global player IBM. With ambitions set on digital transformation and Industry 5.0, Minister-President Jambon considered a visit to IBM Watson's headquarters in Munich as strategically important for Flanders.
10 Science & Technology Offices worldwide
The new Science & Technology (S&T) Office in Munich completes the list of S&T offices with a focus on Digital Tech in Silicon Valley (Palo Alto) and New York, London and Paris, and in Asian markets such as Singapore, Mumbai and Guangzhou.
The Science & Technology Office in Munich – after Copenhagen, Paris and London – is the fourth European Science & Technology Office to focus on Health Tech. Outside of Europe, this is also the case for the S&T Offices in Tokyo and New York.
Within the third focus domain of Climate Tech, FIT's Science & Technology team is active on three continents, with offices in Palo Alto, Singapore and Copenhagen.
