With around 25 participants from regional companies, the new ‘TechCircleNight’ event series, a joint format of the Technology Campus (TC) Neustadt an der Donau and the city of Neustadt, kicked off on 14 October in Neustadt an der Donau. The aim is to strengthen links between science and industry and to promote practice-oriented research collaborations with OTH Regensburg.
TechCircleNights are to take place three times a year in future. Each event will be hosted by a local company, which will organise the evening together with the city of Neustadt. The Technology Campus itself opened its doors for the kick-off event.
Science meets business
‘Philippe Aghion, Peter Howitt and Joel Mokyr – the fact that this year's Nobel Prize in Economics honours research dealing with the conditions for sustainable growth is a coincidence in view of the TechCircleNights, but nevertheless more than fitting,’ emphasised Neustadt's First Mayor Thomas Memmel in his opening speech. ‘After all, openness to new ideas and knowledge of the scientific connections identified in the work are symbolic of the opportunities offered by Neustadt as a location and the potential that lies in the targeted networking of science and practice.’
Dr Andreas Kastenmeier, Managing Director of the Technology Campus Neustadt an der Donau, then explained how companies can benefit from cooperation with OTH Regensburg: ‘Companies often shy away from the bureaucratic hurdles of funding applications or the human resources they would have to invest in their own research projects. We can provide support in both cases, for example.’
Practical research in lightweight construction
Prof. Dr. Carina Braun, Vice President for Appointments and Student Lifecycle Management at OTH Regensburg, encouraged participants to engage in cooperation:
"Have the courage to work with us innovatively: the Technology Campus enables practical cooperative research, and our results can be applied directly. Companies that work with us not only gain access to our modern laboratories, but also to the expertise of our engineers."
The Neustadt an der Donau location offers great potential, particularly in the field of lightweight construction: ‘Here, the exchange of scientific methods enables us to meet the requirements of industry.’
Economic development and knowledge transfer
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ingo Ehrlich, scientific director of TC Neustadt, illustrated how closely research and industry work together:
‘We generate knowledge that companies can use to grow. That's why it's important that our research doesn't take place behind closed doors, but that we always remain in dialogue with companies – for example, on evenings like tonight.’
Mayor Memmel also emphasised the importance of the format: ‘With TechCircleNight, we support classic economic development, make our location attractive and aim to attract new companies in the long term.’
Voices from the field
Matthias Schwarz, Managing Director of Rottal Hanf GmbH, and Martin Hess, Managing Director of INTERTEC-Hess GmbH, reported on how successful the collaboration is already proving to be.
‘As a young company that does not yet have much capacity for research, we have benefited greatly from the cooperation with the Technology Campus,’ said Schwarz.
Hess added: ‘We have been working together efficiently and productively for some time now. The campus also gives us access to other universities and their expertise, which we might otherwise never have known about.’
His conclusion: ‘You go there with the symptoms, not the diagnosis’ – a sentence that aptly describes the solution-oriented approach of the collaborations.
Campus:Netz at OTH Regensburg as a point of contact for companies
Finally, Annalena Böck, research officer at TC Neustadt, referred to the Open Regional Campus: ‘This is a platform for companies where anyone can find out about opportunities for cooperation with OTH Regensburg via Campus:Netz.’
The next TechCircleNight will take place in January 2026 at Atlas Copco. The programme will include presentations on topics from the fields of robotics, automation, digital tools and applied policy analysis
