»The Power of Innovation is on the rise« – Interview with Prof. Oliver Günther, Ph.D., President of the University of Potsdam

Prof Günther, how important is the transfer of knowledge from research for economic development in Brandenburg?

Transfer is essential for economic life. Science is a key driver of what goes into development and is introduced to the global market. In this respect, science is absolutely crucial for the well-being of an economy and regional economic development. It creates jobs, prosperity, happiness and fulfilment – much of what we want in life. When I arrived in Brandenburg twelve years ago, the region was experiencing a significant economic downturn. Back then, politicians were not as convinced as they are today that good science and transfer could become an essential basis for the state’s economic and cultural growth. But now it is clear that transfer is a crucial transmission belt for Brandenburg to move on from being a holiday destination region. We also have Tesla in the state partly because of the good science.

Is there evidence that this transmission framework works?

As a university, we are regularly measured, for example by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany). They have a transfer barometer that regularly ranks us among the top 5 German universities. Why is that? Because we have a large number of start-ups. Not all of them are ultimately successful, but many carve out a niche for themselves or even grow into large companies. This creates gross domestic product and jobs. However, it’s not just about money, it’s also about happiness, which is created through meaningful tasks.

How does the Potsdam Science Park contribute to this innovative strength?

The university campus in the Potsdam Science Park scores with a very efficient research landscape, in addition to the Max Planck Institutes and the Fraunhofer Institutes as well as commercial tenants. Thanks to the very close and trusting cooperation between the university, non-university research institutions, the city and the state, an ecosystem is growing here that creates great added value for Brandenburg.

»Competent contacts such as the site management in Golm and good services are important to create a positive atmosphere that promotes start-up biographies.«

The value of scientific findings is enhanced when they lead to the development of useful innovations that benefit society. What does it take to achieve an efficient transfer of research knowledge into practice? 

We can answer this better now than we could 20 or 30 years ago. When I started out as a university lecturer, transfer meant that we at the university would research something, write down our ideas and then someone from industry would come along and make something out of it. However, this is not realistic because the players are too active in their specific work contexts and perhaps also communicate too little.

Today, we think about transfer much more in terms of people. We rely on scientists deciding to step away from pure research for a while or entirely and found a start-up. We promote this start-up culture among scientists at a very early stage in their careers. For some, it is difficult to decide to start a business because they enjoy research and want to go far in it. There is a certain conflict of objectives, but we try to show the variety of possible developments. Some people remain in science and that is a good thing. The important part is that the system as a whole is balanced. We need strong basic research and we need transition paths into start-ups and existing companies. However, knowledge transfer also takes place when someone completes a doctorate with us and then goes to Rolls Royce or Tesla.

You are a business information scientist and have founded two start-ups – in your experience, what does it take for scientists to venture into the start-up process?

As a young scientist in Ulm in the 80s and 90s, I was at an institute that already focussed a lot on transfer. When I became a professor in Berlin in 1993, the mood for start-ups was very good. My first start-up was Poptel, Germany’s first Voice Over IP company, which had a lot of innovative engineering in it. In the USA, I then co-founded a company called TeamToolz, a cloud software provider for digital services. We have the right start-up spirit in Potsdam as well – a lot will happen here in the next few years. We just need to make students at the universities aware at an early stage that they can start their own business and that this can be a good path to take.

Start-up activities are actively promoted in the Potsdam Science Park – how important are such programmes?

On the university side, we have an organisational unit, Potsdam Transfer, which starts by looking into laboratories and identifying ideas and people interested in founding a company. They then bring teams together and refer them to the Potsdam Science Park site management team, which organises numerous coaching sessions and workshops on start-up topics and, if necessary, refers start-ups to the Golm innovation centres, which can offer them laboratory space. Competent contacts such as the site management in Golm and good services are important in order to create a positive atmosphere that promotes start-up biographies.

The site management is a subsidiary of the University of Potsdam and the state capital – why is such a »central management« crucial for an innovation location?

A university cannot do the work that site management does. It takes this group of eight or nine people working full-time to approach potential investors, negotiate with property developers or clarify issues relating to energy supply and transport links with the city. This is a substantially operational business. Standortmanagement Golm GmbH is operating very successfully, even now at a time when things are not looking so good economically. They are consistently driving the development of the Potsdam Science Park forward, convincing young companies and scientists with good ideas that Golm is the right place for them – and they are creating a community spirit.

»Innovative ideas are sprouting up all over this region and the overall innovative strength is on the rise.«

The site management is currently receiving EU funding for its work, but this will end in 2027. How can the management of the Potsdam Science Park be put on a sustainable financial footing in the long term?

This can only be achieved through public funding, not through private investment alone. However, we could think about founding a user community or co-operative for the companies based in Golm, through which all members pay to continue the site management. We may also go down this path. Nevertheless, it is important to have public money, as economic development is a public task. The question of what the state and city will contribute is therefore crucial. Of course, you can offset the trade tax that will be generated by the new companies. In this respect, it is not wasted money for the state capital of Potsdam, but an investment in the future of the region. Adlershof is an interesting blueprint here; they received money from the state of Berlin for a long time before things really got going.

Potsdam is one of the ten cities with the most start-ups in Germany, with its big sister Berlin leading the way. Now the universities and scientific institutions of Berlin and Brandenburg want to join forces and turn the capital region into an international hotspot for deep tech start-ups with the Startup Factory UNITE Berlin-Brandenburg. What does the federal state of Brandenburg have to offer in this network?

Berlin has long had a good innovative deep tech infrastructure with two and, after reunification, three major universities as well as many innovative universities of applied sciences. In Brandenburg, the picture was completely different. Here, it was first necessary to establish a higher education system and develop the idea of turning Brandenburg into an innovative state. Now it goes blow by blow. I am the chairman of the Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Award and this year we again had 130 submissions, of which around 30 came from Brandenburg. That shows that innovative ideas are sprouting up all over this region and that innovation is on the rise overall.

Can UNITE really bring the capital region together?

UNITE can have a unifying effect. Competition makes no sense in such a dense area. A company that wants to settle will look at what Adlershof, Buch, the Potsdam Science Park in Golm or Cottbus have to offer. But there is enough potential and economic performance for all of them. In the long term, UNITE will be able to make an important contribution to bringing Berlin, Potsdam and, in the future, also Cottbus together to form a large start-up area in which many innovative people and companies will settle.

»The growth curve that we have seen over the last 30 years will continue.«

What competences does the Potsdam Science Park bring to this picture?

The focus in Golm is on the natural sciences, human sciences and computer science. This is due to the fact that the university’s Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Human Sciences with Psychology, Education and Cognitive Sciences are based there. There is also the Faculty of Health Sciences, which is supported by the Brandenburg University of Technology Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) and the university hospital Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane (MHB). These are the cornerstones that fit in very well with what the non-university institutes Max Planck and Fraunhofer contribute. The site management team makes sure that new settlements, for example from the life sciences or biotechnology, fit in with this.

Over the next ten years, around 100 science-related companies are to be established in the Potsdam Science Park. Where do you see the innovation centre in 2035?

The growth curve that we have seen over the last 30 years will continue. At the moment, demand for property has declined somewhat, but I am optimistic. The ingredients are all there and the tighter it gets in Adlershof and Buch, the more we feel the demand for property in Golm. Everything comes together in the Potsdam Science Park: It is easily accessible, both from Berlin and Potsdam as well as from the airport – and it offers urgently needed space. I think it will be much more densely built up by 2035 and many more people will live and work in Golm. In addition to research and company buildings, there will be a mix of uses, primarily housing, but also an infrastructure for social and cultural life. As a university, we are currently converting a former large garage into a student cultural centre. But we would like to have a few more pubs, restaurants, concert and cultural venues. There’s still a lot to do, but it’s coming. The student residences that are being built are helpful because they bring people who will live in Golm.

Your university educates around 8,500 students on the Golm campus – how much does this pool of well-trained young talent enrich the predominantly medium-sized economy in Brandenburg? 

For example, by young people joining an existing company. We offer a matchmaking service between companies and graduates. In the context of out Industry & Business Partnerships, we connect job-seeking graduates to around 60 companies. Some prefer to work for large companies, while others are drawn to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). There is also the problem of company succession in SMEs. A metalworking company could also consider a university graduate who studied physics and would like to do something like this. These companies, which are in the black but have no successor, will increasingly seek contact with us.

»If the next generation and the generation after that are to live in peace and freedom, then we need a strong economy and a strong culture.«

In the Times Higher Education Ranking 2024, the University of Potsdam was once again categorised as one of the most important universities in the world – in the 201 to 250 group out of more than 2,000 universities – what effect does such a certificate of quality have on the attractiveness of the academic location?  

For us as a research university, it is important that we are recognised internationally through such rankings. In general, the interest of foreign students and researchers in the location is extremely high. The university has 16 per cent international students and the proportion of international non-EU students in Golm in particular is likely to be significantly higher, especially from India, Africa and South America. English is spoken in many labs and almost half of all Master’s programmes are in English. People come to us from all over the world. Some go back afterwards, others stay and that’s a good thing. They are very welcome here.

How can an innovation centre like the Potsdam Science Park help people here in Brandenburg to benefit from science?

To put it somewhat pathetically, it’s about creating a Brandenburg worth living in for future generations. If the next generation and the generation after that are to live in peace and freedom, then we need an efficient economy and a strong culture. Transfer from science is essential for this. After all, good science gives rise to innovations that create development, companies and attractive working environments. You only have to look at history to see how quickly prosperous countries with poor management can go down the drain. To maintain the standard of living, we need innovative places like the Potsdam Science Park.