User:ZaaraTE/Leading-Edge Cluster Competition

The Leading-Edge Cluster Competition is a competition organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), as a result of which clusters are publicly funded. The Leading-Edge Cluster Competition is the third major measure of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, alongside the German Universities Excellence Initiative and the Pact for Research and Innovation, to strengthen the performance of the German science system and make Germany an attractive location for science.

Objective
The clusters are intended to develop and secure an outstanding competence profile with a high innovative capability. International networking and cooperation are also to be strengthened so that foreign companies can settle in Germany.A further goal is the development and testing of innovative forms of cooperation between science and industry. The clusters are to train personnel for companies in the region through targeted training programmes.

The clusters describe in a strategy how they want to achieve these goals. Projects of the cluster members will then be promoted and will contribute significantly to the implementation of this strategy. As a rule, projects are funded by companies with 50% of the costs. The participating companies therefore contribute their own financial resources in the amount of the state subsidy. University projects can receive up to 100% funding.

Supported Leading Edge Clusters
There have been three competition rounds, in which five clusters have each been honoured as top clusters and each received up to 40 million euros in funding over a period of five years. In total, 15 excellence clusters will received 600 million euros. The funding will expire in 2023. The clusters had to convince a jury with their strategic concepts, their efficiency and the significant financial involvement of industry and private investors.

First competition round

 * BioRN: Cell-Based and molecular medicine in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan region (Heidelberg, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Darmstadt)
 * Cool Silicon: Energy efficient information and aommunication technologies (ICT) through micro- and nanotechnology in the region Chemnitz
 * Forum Organic Electronics: Promotion of the green technology organic electronics in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region
 * Hamburg Aviation: Promotion of the aviation industry in the Hamburg region
 * Solarvalley Central Germany: Promotion of photovoltaics industry in the states Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen

Second competition round

 * EffizienzCluster LogistikRuhr: Technology platform for logistics in the Ruhr region
 * Medical Valley EMN: Medical technology products in the Nuremberg region
 * microTEC Südwest: Microsystems engineering in rhe Baden-Württemberg region
 * Munich Biotech Cluster: Personalized and targeted medicine in the Munich region
 * Software-Cluster: IT industry in the regions Darmstadt, Walldorf, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe and Saarbrücken

Third competition round

 * BioEconomy Cluster: Projects in the field of wood and chemistry in the Saxony-Anhalt region
 * Cluster for Individualized Immune Intervention (Ci3): Immunotherapeutics in the Rhine-Main region (Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg)
 * Electromobility South-West: Electromobility in the regions Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Ulm
 * it's OWL - Intelligent Technical Systems Ostwestfalen-Lippe: Intelligent technical systems in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region
 * MAI Carbon: Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) in the regions Munich, Augsburg and Ingolstadt