Visit State Premier and Science Minister Visit Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim
2 September 2025
Exchange on current activities in particular in the fields of cooperation, translation and transfer of research findings into application
Baden-Württemberg’s State Premier Winfried Kretschmann and its Science Minister, Petra Olschowski, are to visit the Innovation Campus Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim on 4 September 2025. They will inform themselves about the Alliance’s activities and developments, particularly in the fields of cooperation, translation and transfer of research findings into application. The visit to the new seminar and co-working premises on the Im Neuenheimer Feld campus will concentrate on an exchange with researchers and founders, who will introduce their projects and startups in short presentations and live demonstrations.
The Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim was founded by seven leading university and non-university research institutions in Heidelberg and Mannheim with a view to expand the Rhine-Neckar region into an internationally renowned biomedical-technological hub focusing on the life sciences, the health economy and medical technology. Cooperating in the research alliance are Heidelberg University, a University of Excellence, with its two Medical Faculties, the University Hospitals in Heidelberg and Mannheim, the German Cancer Research Center, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research and the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim. The Alliance is receiving long-term funding as an Innovation Campus from the state of Baden-Württemberg, inter alia to build and jointly use high-tech platforms and to conduct common research projects with industry.
The managing directors of the research alliance, represented by Prof. Dr Michael Boutros, Prof. Dr Wolfgang Wick and Dr Andrea Leibfried, will give an initial briefing on the current situation, prospects and potential of the Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim. Then follow short presentations on cooperation, translation and transfer of research findings into application. Speakers will be Prof. Dr Kerstin Göpfrich and Prof. Dr Michael Platten (synthetic immunology), Prof. Dr Sandy Engelhardt (artificial intelligence and cardiovascular simulation) as well as Prof. Dr Dr Felix Sahm (tumor characterization). A gallery walk with live demonstrations will offer further insights into innovations from research and the startup scene, for instance in the fields of infectiology, mental health, molecular engineering and cancer neuroscience.
The visit by the state premier and the minister underlines the major strategic significance of Heidelberg as a research location for the state of Baden-Württemberg. In this context, the Rhine-Neckar Region is notable for its special innovative strength in the field of life sciences. The meeting on 4 September, which is not open to the public, also marks the official opening of the new seminar and co-working premises of the Alliance.