Shaping the digital future: Witten/Herdecke University launches strategic partnership with DIGITALHUB.DE

New impetus for digital business practice: the Reinhard Mohn Institute of Management (RMI) at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) and DIGITALHUB.DE in Bonn will be working closely together in future to combine teaching, research and entrepreneurial innovation in a targeted manner. At the same time, the cooperation will strengthen young talents who want to solve social challenges with digital ideas.

Digital networking with social aspirations

DIGITALHUB.DE supports young founders on their path to their own company and offers them access to a large network of investors, research institutions and corporations such as Deutsche Telekom. The programme focuses on cyber security, digital health and sustainable technologies. Thanks to the recently concluded cooperation, students of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Society at UW/H will also benefit from the network and expertise in future and gain authentic insights into different company sizes and cultures - from the innovative start-up atmosphere to the structured corporate world.

Joint events such as hackathons, innovation labs and workshops will anchor the topic of start-ups in teaching in a practical way. "Thanks to the cooperation with the Digital Hub, our students are part of a leading network of experts in digital entrepreneurship. They not only develop ideas here, but also implement them - in real dialogue with founders and entrepreneurs. They acquire skills that bring success and thus contribute to making NRW an exciting environment for digital start-ups," says Prof. Dr Hendrik Wilhelm, RMI Professor of Strategic Organisation, coordinator of the Digital Hub cooperation and jointly responsible for the Bachelor's degree programme in Management. A Digital Impact Day will also be held once a year: This provides a stage for student project solutions and enables direct dialogue with investors and entrepreneurs from the Rhineland.

Research to increase the number of successful business start-ups in NRW

In addition to the points of contact in teaching, the Reinhard Mohn Institute of Management at UW/H will implement joint research projects with the Digital Hub - with the primary aim of further strengthening successful business start-ups in NRW. In addition, the Faculty of Management, Economics and Society, where the RMI is based, is participating in the STARTUP OPEN AIR on 27 August in Bonn with a talk between Prof. Dr Hendrik Wilhelm and Lara Daniel, UW/H graduate and founder of influencer marketing agency Pulse Advertising.

The UW/H is integrating the cooperation into an ideal context for promoting digital skills and entrepreneurship. Small learning groups characterise everyday life, while practical content relating to digitalisation, innovation and leadership combines digital thinking with the will to shape society. This contributes to the fact that numerous graduates and graduates find their way into self-employment after completing their studies in Witten.