November 2011 - Dezember 2013
Medical technology was chosen as the priority technology for the fourth themed campaign. As an industry, medical technology has great relevance for the future, and it is strongly based on knowledge and has high innovative power.
In the context of the campaign, medical technology focused on six key innovation areas:
- imaging processes,
- telemedicine,
- in-vitro diagnostics,
- prostheses and implants,
- operative and interventional systems,
- cell and tissue technology.
The dynamics of medical technology in Germany are based on high scientific and technological competence and on the resulting high market shares. However, medical technology actors in Germany are not simply satisfied with what they have achieved. Competition on the global market is growing both from a scientific and technological, and from an economic, perspective. In addition, medical technology is ever more strongly characterised by detailed technological and scientific knowledge, interdisciplinarity and regulations. Added to this are additional factors, which have a global impact, such as demographic development or the spread of infectious diseases, which create an opportunity for medical technology.
The ability to continually innovate technologically is of crucial importance for Germany to be able to stay strong in international competition in medical technology in the medium to long term, and to maintain and expand its competence and market shares. Access to globally available knowledge constitutes an important framework condition in this respect.
In order to make the competence of Germany in medical technology even more visible across the world, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launched a themed campaign called “Germany – Partner for Medical Technology” in November 2011 under the auspices of the international marketing initiative “Research in Germany – Land of Ideas”.
During the two-year campaign, the BMBF presented selected networks, research institutions, universities and companies at international specialised events – such as the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, RSNA, in Chicago in 2012 and 2013, or the 12th National Life Science & Technology Week IATI-BioMed in Tel Aviv in 2013. With their joint presentations, the campaign participants reached an audience consisting of around 185,000 experts. The networks were able to set up around 50 completed or planned research cooperations and establish contact with more than 1,000 scientists and companies in target countries, such as the USA, Israel or Brazil.
At a concluding conference in Erlangen in February 2014, which was attended by the official campaign participants and numerous other guests from Germany and abroad, the BMBF drew the conclusion that the themed campaign had been successful.
