Tuttlingen – After two virtual general meetings in the past two Corona years, the board and management of the technology network TechnologyMountains eV (TM) invited again in person for the first time. In the Tuttlingen town hall, the chairman of the board, Dr. Harald Stallforth 80 company representatives from the medical, plastics and microtechnology industries.
Despite the restrictions caused by the pandemic, a surprising number of development and joint projects were set up for the benefit of the members in the 2021 reporting year, according to Stallforth. The 80-page annual report bears witness to this. The Innovation Forum Medical Technology was even able to take place physically, with around 450 interested parties taking part. After all, the “Smart Technologies and Systems” forum was held virtually. These forums bring together entrepreneurs, development leaders and industry decision-makers with creative scientists from across Europe. There were also 56 ExpertTables with almost 750 participants. At TM, these working groups are "birthplaces for further projects," said Managing Director Thomas Wolf. Around 1,500 members took part in a further 55 events on topics such as digitization, artificial intelligence and production technologies. The management counted around 1,000 participants in the 92 seminars in the fields of medical and plastics technology, most of which were offered online, but also in hybrid form. The latter will be retained, promised managing director Yvonne Glienke, since national members will also benefit from it. Because their number is constantly increasing. Of the 54 new member companies in 2021 - TM now has 438 members - a quarter come from all over Germany, some even from the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Yvonne Glienke reported that the focus of the association's work is currently on a vision process for the medical technology industry. In addition, one has an eye on the European Medical Devices Regulation EU-MDR, "which has been occupying us for ten years". The regulation not only endangers innovations in medical technology, but also existing products. "It's still our turn", assured Yvonne Glienke, "however, the wheels of bureaucracy grind very slowly, which can have serious consequences for patient care".
How strongly the innovation and technology network is linked was made clear by the presentation of some current joint projects with a history of success, presented by representatives of MedicalMountains GmbH, the Hahn-Schickard Society, the Kunststoff-Institut Südwest and the long-standing cooperation partner, Furtwangen University. The innovative and partly publicly funded playing field ranges from access to artificial intelligence, developments of technological innovations in the industry, to plastic recycling and the creation of experimental worlds for children and young people to prepare them for MINT professions (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology). to inspire.
