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Dear Readers,

For more than 30 years, Steinbeis TRANSFER Magazine has played a special role in fulfilling the Steinbeis Foundation’s reason for being of imparting knowledge: It shares it. Steinbeis Enterprises write magazine articles to illustrate the areas in which Steinbeis shares knowledge and works on technology projects. This also showcases the areas in which Steinbeis experts are involved in developing future technology. In 2020, TRANSFER magazine accompanied a Technologie*Begreifen (“Grasp Technology”) project involving the Steinbeis Network. Its name: #techourfuture. The aim of the project was to offer different stakeholders in Baden-Wuerttemberg (and beyond) information and to stage different kinds of events aimed at making it easy to obtain in-depth and objective information on emerging technology. It was and still is an experiment, and the idea is to explore how willing society is to think about and grapple with the concepts of future technology.

The themes of the three events staged for the project also provided the focal topics for the 2020 editions of Steinbeis TRANSFER magazine. There has been a continual growth in interest in the project – and its results – since the first #techourfuture events, which have dealt with the future of autonomous flying, the future of healthcare, and now a third topic: the future of nutrition. This current issue of our magazine focuses on the latter topic and examines the food and beverages of the future.

The Steinbeis Network and the work carried out by its experts are a reflection of the entrepreneurial emphasis in Baden-Wuerttemberg: There are only a few startups in the field of nutrition, but lots more expertise in the fields of autonomous travel and “Operation 4.0 – data enabling in healthcare.” It is clear, however, that social factors play an intrinsic role in entrepreneurial technology transfer. It can therefore be worthwhile drawing attention to the topics that currently motivate people.

In this current issue of TRANSFER Magazine, we expand on these topics by providing insights offered by #techourfuture experts working both inside and outside of the Steinbeis network. Assessments carried out by the Ferdinand Steinbeis Institute within the scope of the Technologie*Begreifen #techourfuture project also offer insights into society’s willingness and approach to embracing emerging technology, also shedding light on the issues that arise for members of the general public.

We hope you find this current issue of our magazine an interesting read!

With regards,
Marlene Gottwald & Norbert Höptner

Contact

Dr. Marlene Gottwald (author)

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Norbert Höptner (author)

Marlene Gottwald and Norbert Höptner have been working together for several years on the Ferdinand Steinbeis Institute’s Technology*Begreifen #techourfuture project. Funded by the Baden-Wuerttemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, and Housing, the initiative revolves around the issue of how members of the general public feel about emerging technology. The experts are working on the development of a “platform for trust” aimed at providing neutral and comprehensive information on future technologies. Marlene Gottwald and Norbert Höptner’s hope is that this will allay the perception among some members of society that they are losing control, and that it will allow citizens to consciously help shape the future.

Ferdinand-Steinbeis-Institute (Stuttgart)
www.steinbeis.de/su/1212 | www.steinbeis-fsti.de | www.techourfuture.de