BMFTR – HTAD Research Infrastructure (HAW-OpenSpace)

Funding is available for application-oriented research projects that set new standards in the development and implementation of key technologies at universities of applied sciences in Germany.

Within its Forschung an Hochschulen für Angewandte Wissenschaften (Research at Universities of Applied Sciences) Framework Programme, this initiative (Förderung des Aufbaus von Forschungsinfrastrukturen an Hochschulenfür Angewandte Wissenschaften zur Erreichungder Ziele der Hightech Agenda Deutschland) by the Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (BMFTR – Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space) aims to establish an excellent and sustainable research infrastructure for developing new research topics or reorienting existing ones within an innovation space at universities of applied sciences in Germany.

Funding is provided for one project per university of applied sciences (HAW) to establish a competitive, high-quality and sustainable research infrastructure within an open innovation space for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. The focus must be on forward-looking technologies designed to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of the economy, society and the state. Projects must have a clear link to the German Hightech Agenda (HTAD).

Projects should be structured in the following three phases and activities:

• Establishment phase (12 months): Implementation of the long-term investment in the innovation space. This involves equipping an existing space with technological infrastructure that may also include facilities for communication and collaboration with external partners.
• Research and Development Phase (18 months): Funding for interdisciplinary research projects that are designed in such a way that the expected research results can be scaled up in the OpenSpace in collaboration with an application partner.
• Scaling phase (6 months): Development of approaches for transferring and scaling the solution into practice.

Following the project duration, the HAW OpenSpace is intended to become self-sustaining through the generation of, for example, contract research, own funds or further third-party funding.

Projects should also establish a cross-cutting work package for community management that identifies the R&D needs of industry partners, brings together academic partners and stakeholders in an OpenSpace setting, and ensures that research projects continue to be generated in the future. Within this framework, funding may be applied for to cover personnel costs as well as costs for communication infrastructure and engagement formats.

The BMFTR has appointed the project management agency VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH to coordinate the programme on its behalf.