Chemnitz selected as a model city in the Fraunhofer "Morgenstadt" innovation network

"Morgenstadt: City Insights" analyses the sustainability potential of cities

The City of Chemnitz and Chemnitz University of Technology applied for the Morgenstadt competition at the end of last year and jointly prepared the documents. The competition is still ongoing. Prague was selected as the first city in June 2014. Chemnitz followed as the second winning city on 14 November 2014, beating more than 20 cities and Leipzig and Tbilisi in the final. A third city will follow this spring.

"The Morgenstadt City Challenge offers an excellent opportunity for future cooperation with Chemnitz University of Technology and Fraunhofer," said Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig, emphasising the significance for the city. "The fact that we prevailed against 20 competitors shows the potential of our city." Rector Prof. van Zyl: "As a Morgenstadt, Chemnitz can now establish itself in a network of science, industry and politics in the long term and find important partners and resources for sustainability projects."

Prof. Dr Angelika Bullinger-Hoffmann, holder of the Chair of Ergonomics and Innovation Management at the TU, and Dr Urs Luczak from the City of Chemnitz informed the press today about the scope and content of the Morgenstadt City Challenge: The three winning cities will receive comprehensive research and consulting services tailored to their individual situation. It starts with an analysis of their current situation: Where does the city stand in terms of sustainable development - for example in terms of resource conservation, innovative capacity and quality of life? The analysis makes statements on the current and future need for action and supports the development of strategies and their implementation.

A joint kick-off event in spring will bring together those involved from the City of Chemnitz, the Technical University and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Initially, a comprehensive city analysis is to be carried out based on 80 fields of action of the Morgenstadt model, including the areas of governance and planning, economy, mobility and transport or energy and resources. The aim is to identify strengths and weaknesses. Based on this analysis, the need for action and fields of action will be determined. This will later result in a roadmap that defines a series of measures and strategies to support the city of Chemnitz in its sustainable development.

Workshops and activities are planned in Chemnitz with the Fraunhofer team, representatives of the city and Chemnitz University of Technology as well as the local community. The long-term process initiated in this way will be supported by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

Updating the cooperation agreement with Chemnitz University of Technology

The Morgenstadt project as a joint endeavour is the result of extensive cooperation between the city and Chemnitz University of Technology. A great deal has developed here in recent years and the close collaboration has gained in quality, as demonstrated by the broad spectrum of joint activities.

The existing cooperation agreement between the city and Chemnitz University of Technology dated 14 November 2007 will be confirmed and further developed with its update. The city council will vote on the document on 25 February. The aim of the partnership is to strengthen the Chemnitz location in the fields of education and science, business, urban development, culture and sport through joint efforts. The cooperation is intended to promote the development of the city and university while maintaining their own responsibilities and raising the profile of both partners.

"We are continuing the cooperation agreement because we both benefit from it and it is very good for the city," says Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig. In this context, Rector Prof. van Zyl emphasises: "Chemnitz is characterised by an active industrial environment and an open transfer culture. Our knowledge contributes to growth and development in the region."

"The university is a driving force for networks in science, business, education and culture," said the Lord Mayor. She emphasised the strong cooperation between the city and the TU. This partnership will further strengthen Chemnitz as a location and provide impetus. Particularly in the course of the communication campaign "The city is me", the municipality and Chemnitz University want to market Chemnitz even more strongly together with the aim of attracting young people to the city as a place to live, study and work.

Examples of good cooperation can already be seen in urban development, for example at Brühl or at the Smart Systems Campus or in the establishment of the Centre for Teacher Training. However, intensive cooperation is also already taking place in securing the Chemnitz Clinical Centre's classification as a "maximum care hospital", in the cooperation between libraries and museums, in the support of new daycare centre construction projects near the university and in joint marketing. In the years since 2007, a wealth of small and large building blocks of cooperation have been created for the city.

The individual projects and collaborations are documented in a catalogue of measures, which is constantly updated and forms part of the cooperation agreement.