BioPark Regensburg wins silver again
(No. 276) The cluster management of the BioRegio Regensburg has once again undergone an audit by the “European Cluster Excellence Initiative” and received the silver label certificate for the fourth time in a row.
BioPark Regensburg GmbH, an enterprise of the city of Regensburg, is the management organization of the innovation cluster “BioRegio Regensburg”. The region in Eastern Bavaria currently includes 66 companies and over 5,671 employees from the life sciences fields (see map). It was one of the first bioregions in Germany in 1996 and was certified by the “European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI)” in 2011 as one of the first members of the German “go-cluster” platform.
The one-day audit was carried out by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA). ESCA heads a European network of cluster experts who implement a three-stage quality audit to analyze and evaluate network and cluster structures. To date, over 2,000 management organizations in 30 countries in accordance with the ECEI criteria. A total of 31 quality categories are qualitatively examined, for example strategic orientation, cluster structure, financing and the goals achieved so far.
In the analysis of the BioPark, the consistent and sustainable development of the cluster was once again particularly emphasized. The review of the strategic development of the cluster through regular location analyzes and most recently the Healthcare Regensburg Master Plan was viewed very positively. This led to the successful development of the cluster from bio technology and pharmaceutical industries through medical engineering, diagnostics and analytics to the healthcare industry. The cluster was expanded early on to also include so-called associated, interdisciplinary companies. Most recently, the cluster benefited from collaboration in regional cross-cluster approaches such as the AI initiative “AIR Regensburg” (Artificial Intelligence Regensburg), the Digitale Gründeroffensive Oberpfalz (DGO) and the sister company TechBase.
The audit also particularly highlighted current developments in the healthcare industry. “Our initiative “Healthcare Regensburg – managed by BioPark” has given a further boost to our cluster work,” explained BioPark Managing Director Dr. Thomas Diefenthal. “Most recently, with the support of the State of Bavaria, we were able to launch the BioPark Jump project, an accelerator program with its own office and laboratory space that supports young start-up teams, particularly in the highly regulated healthcare market,” added cluster manager Dr. Ilja Hagen. “The renewed award for the fourth time in a row recognizes the very good work of the BioPark team and, on behalf of all players in the BioRegio Regensburg, underlines the importance of the industry for the location,” added Prof. Dr. Georg Stephan Barfuß, consultant for economics, science and finance for the city of Regensburg. The Regensburg region is a “hot spot” for innovative cluster policy. There are currently one gold and three clusters certified with the ECEI silver label in the two Regensburg technology and start-up centers on site.
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