© Jan Greune (LMU)
As global competition among metropolitan regions intensifies, the two Universities of Excellence Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are consolidating their scientific strengths in future-oriented and high-potential research fields. The State of Bavaria is lending its support through the Hightech Agenda Bavaria.
With the support of the Bavarian Ministry of Science and the Arts, Munich's Universities of Excellence have launched the ONE MUNICH Strategy Forum to make joint progress on future prospects. This forum establishes a new cross-institutional format for collaboration; the stakeholders are leading partners from the scientific, economic, cultural and community sectors located in the Munich metropolitan region. The joint objective is to identify potentials for interaction in promising future-oriented fields as rigorously and as early as possible and to promote research projects in these fields.
Bavarian Minister of Science the Arts Bernd Sibler observes: "LMU and TUM are joining their partners in the ONE MUNICH Strategy Forum to maximize the implementation of their comprehensive expertise, enhance their reputations even further and ensure them a leading position in the international research landscape. We are giving our two Universities of Excellence our full support through the innovation campaign Hightech Agenda Bavaria, since our expectations for the future are clear: We want to shape progress and innovation in Bavaria according to our own standards. And we have the potential to do so."
TUM President Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann observes: "In the ONE MUNICH Strategy Forum we want to confront the era of competition in Munich and to consolidate the best strengths in the metropolitan region even more effectively. Of course the times to come will call for competition - this is what drives us - but working together is our strategy for the future!"
LMU President Bernd Huber says: "The ONE MUNICH Strategy Forum takes the proven long-time research collaboration between LMU and TUM as well as their partnerships with the non-university institutions to a new level at the Munich location. Our aim is to bring together the critical mass needed to establish new research focus areas."
The ONE MUNICH Strategy Forum is a part of the two universities' Excellence Strategy. The alliance projects launched will be funded according to the matching principle by the two Universities of Excellence and by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts under the Hightech Agenda Bavaria with a total of approximately 2.5 million euros annually, together with the support of other participating partners.
Next-generation biofabrication technologies
The first ONE MUNICH project "Munich BioFab", currently being launched, includes the participation of the HM Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences, the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and the German Research Center for Environmental Health Helmholtz Zentrum München. Working at the interface of synthetic biology, biophysics, biochemistry, additive manufacturing techniques and data science, the project's objective is to develop innovative biofabrication technologies for the production of artificial, functional biological systems. Possible applications range from functional biomaterials and intelligent biomimetic systems to biomedical sensors, soft nano- and micro-robotic systems and even to the realization of synthesis machines for bioproduction.
In addition, plans include support for initiatives in the fields of quantum sciences/quantum communications and human-centered robotics.
