TransforMA: Two Years of Advancing Knowledge and Technology Transfer in Mannheim

At the annual TransforMA talk on 30 January, the project members of the collaborative project and the lead partner VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH drew a positive conclusion of the first two years of the project. The public lecture series “Ideas Connect”, the “Impact Investing & Measurement: Bridging Research and Practice” conference and “AI vs. AI – Save the City“, a workshop on urban development, were added to already existing offers promoting the exchange between politics, economy, and society with the two higher education institutions. At the Mannheimer Zukunftslabor, organized by TransforMA in December 2024, 75 representatives of various interest groups came together to exchange ideas and develop concepts for the city of Mannheim in the year 2040. The discussions covered topics such as social cohesion and living together in diversity, dealing with technological progress, the gap between rich and poor, and human-centered traffic.
In 2024, TransforMA also started new collaborations and supported its partners in shaping transformation processes. For example, TransforMA worked with ITK Engineering GmbH and the port of Mannheim on automation and digitization processes for ports, and with the start-up Vision Domes on a system for the sustainable use of water in greenhouses.
Another important goal of TransforMA is to develop technology demonstrators that provide non-scientists with insights into the latest technological developments and possible fields of application. In 2024, a prototype for the optical measurement of mold on food and a prototype for the determination of the authenticity of olive oils were completed as part of the TransforMA project. In addition, a prototype was developed in the form of the chatbot “Carl Botgers” to test whether artificial intelligence in the form of chatbots can be used in psychological counseling.
For the future, TransforMA plans to further expand collaboration and innovation networks in the region. A particular focus is on implementing sustainable dialogue and exchange formats and on further developing knowledge and technology transfer structures at the participating higher education institutions.
About TransforMA
TransforMA is a joint project of the University of Applied Sciences Mannheim and the University of Mannheim, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the “Innovative University” funding initiative. The project receives around 12 million euros in funding over five years. The aim of the project is to support the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region in the major transformation processes of our time.