EU funding for two projects at the University of Kassel

The project entitled "Development of a Startup Hotspot for Organic Agriculture and Food in the Werra-Meißner District" aims to improve the conditions for business startups in the organic agriculture and food sector. The project focuses on the Werra-Meißner district in northern Hesse. "There is already a dynamic start-up scene around the university location in Witzenhausen," says Professor Dr. Detlev Möller from the Department of Organic Agricultural Sciences at the University of Kassel, who submitted the funding application. "With our project, we want to create sustainable structures to provide young entrepreneurs with targeted support for their ventures," says Dr. Sonja Biewer, who will work on the project in the future.

The services offered include, for example, intensive courses in which participants can learn the most important basics about setting up a business. In addition, there will be regular network meetings at which young entrepreneurs can present their business ideas and receive advice from professionals. The focus is always on the field of agriculture and food science.

The University of Kassel promotes business start-ups via various tried-and-tested instruments under the name UNIKAT and has been awarded the title EXIST-Gründerhochschule by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Together with the city of Kassel, the university has also launched the SciencePark on the university campus at Holländischer Platz in Kassel as a location for start-ups. "With the award as a university for start-ups, we combine the claim to constantly expand our offerings in this area," says Dr. Oliver Fromm, Chancellor of the University of Kassel. "The Department of Ecological Agricultural Sciences is already one of the areas of our university with the highest number of start-ups - we are all the more pleased to be able to create even more tailored offers for founders there with the help of the new innovation project."  

The project, entitled "Development of a Startup Hotspot for Organic Agriculture and Food in the Werra-Meißner District," will run for four years. It is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and by state funds from Hesse. Regional networking will be further strengthened by the financial participation of the Sparkasse Werra Meißner Foundation.

Innovation networks for greater resource efficiency

The second project, which is being funded by the EU, is also about networking various players: The "InRess" project aims to create platforms in the fields of "sustainable construction" and "organic farming" that enable regional players from science and practice to engage in a trusting and sustainable exchange.

The network "Resource Efficient Building" under the scientific leadership of Prof. Dr. Stefan Bringezu deals with the development of evaluation and planning tools for resource efficient building with a focus on the selective deconstruction of buildings and the use of recycled materials through urban mining.

The network "Ecological Agriculture" under the scientific leadership of Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heß develops operational resource efficiency strategies with a special focus on the quality management of operational and regional nutrient cycles. The scientific management is supported in each case by a network management, which coordinates the innovation networks, carries out scientific studies, develops topic-specific interaction formats and transfer initiatives and accompanies projects. Prof. Dr. Christian Herzig is responsible for monitoring the project and conducting the impact analysis.

The project is an essential component of the transfer strategy of the University of Kassel and has a duration of 45 months. Through efficient use of resources in the construction sector and in ecological agriculture, the innovation networks also make a significant contribution to sustainable prosperity development in the sense of the Hessian Resource Conservation Strategy.

Minister hands over funding decisions

During a visit to the university location in Witzenhausen, Minister Dorn personally handed over the funding notices: "The Werra-Meißner region is a magnet for numerous students who want to study and realize a sustainable and ecological agriculture and food industry. This has a long tradition here at the location. The former School of Agriculture and Engineering in Witzenhausen has developed into a university location with an excellent international network - the world's first chair for alternative agriculture was established here as early as 1981. The university is an important innovation driver for the region: there are many students at the Department of Organic Agricultural Sciences who want to start a business after graduation, and some alumni in the region who have already taken this step very successfully. Both projects bring research and business even closer together and create permanent structures of dialog between science, companies, regional politics and local citizens. This creates even more know-how for finding targeted answers to the central ecological and social questions of our time. I am pleased that the initiatives of the University of Kassel are supported by the European Union."

Press contact:

Markus Zens
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de