Industry Forum: Boosting Digital Talents and Data-Driven Research

On February 24, 2026, the ECDF hosted another edition of its Industry Forum,this time under the title “Boosting Digital Talents and Data-Driven Research.”The event focused on how research institutions and companies can collaborate to jointly address economic and social issues facing our digital society. 

The event began with a brief welcome address by ECDF Co-Chair Tabea Flügge. She presented the ECDF’s strategic orientation and outlined its prospects beyond March 2028. The focus was on potential advancement pathways as well as the long-term positioning of the ECDF as a platform for cutting-edge digital research and knowledge transfer. Subsequently, two initiatives were introduced for which the ECDF is currently preparing concrete proposals. Both initiatives are designed as collaborative projects with industry and offer attractive opportunities for strategic cooperation with the ECDF.

COFUND: Next-Generation Leaders for a Responsible Digital Society (Lea-DRS)

Timm Teubner, board member of the ECDF, then presented the planned COFUND initiative “Next-Generation Leaders for a Responsible Digital Society (Lea-DRS),” which the ECDF is preparing. With this postdoctoral program, the ECDF aims, starting in 2027, to sustainably advance the careers of outstanding international talents and leaders who will tackle future challenges in digitalization, AI and the use of data. At the ECDF, leading international researchers conduct work on the interdisciplinary focus areas of Integrated Health, Sustainable Cities and Transforming Communities, involving a wide range of STEM disciplines as well as social sciences and humanities. As an overarching research perspective, the ECDF is strategically realigning its focus toward the topic of (post-sovereign) digital agency and resilience, while also addressing related additional innovation topics such as European data spaces and digital public services. Up to ten postdoctoral researchers will be given the opportunity, over a five-year period and in two cohorts, to carry out their own projects while completing an excellent three-year training program. This program will make use of ECDF’s outstanding research infrastructure and its interdisciplinary and international networks and, at the candidate's request, may also involve collaboration with companies. Andrea Cominola, also a member of the ECDF board, then presented his project “iOLE” (Intelligent Online Leakage Detection to Reduce Water Losses) as a concrete application example, in which utility companies and researchers worked together successfully to reduce water losses caused by leakages.

DFG-Initiative: "Corporate Data for Research"

Martin Gersch, Co-Spokesperson of the ECDF Executive Board, spoke about the proposal initiative within the framework of the funding call “Corporate Data for Research” issued by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). The aim is to combine research data with real-world data from companies in order to enable data-driven research on socially and economically relevant issues. The intelligent linking of real-world and research data opens up new perspectives on topics of societal and economic importance. With its proposal entitled “The Future of the European Data Economy with a Focus on Health and Mobility,” ECDF intends to use real-world data for basic research and to establish a data space in the field of nursing care. No new technology will be developed; instead, existing infrastructures will be utilized. The goal is to create a transdisciplinary network in which data can be shared and used jointly without leaving the respective institutions. “To share data securely, trustworthy collaboration, clear legal frameworks and appropriate technical infrastructures are crucial,” Martin Gersch emphasizes. The DFG funding scheme is designed for a period of three years. Eligible applicants are research institutions entitled to apply for DFG funding that can provide a Letter of Intent or Letter of Commitment from practice partners. The proposal is limited to six pages and the submission deadline is March 11, 2026. 

Panel Discussion: What Is Needed for Successful Cooperation Between Business and Academia?

To conclude the event, Sibylle Gabler (Member of the DIN Executive Board), Christoph Krüger (Founder & COO of JUNI) and Samira Franzel as moderator (ECDF) discussed the motivation, expectations and added value of strategic partnerships with academic institutions such as ECDF. Gabler emphasized that DIN, as a self-regulatory body of industry, possesses a vast repository of knowledge in the form of codified standards, which often serve as the basis for regulatory processes. Cooperation with academic institutions is essential in order to generate new insights and continuously further develop standards. A key challenge, she noted, is that many German institutes have so far shown too little initiative in the field of standardization.

When asked about the non-financial benefits of cooperation, Krüger highlighted that for JUNI, the large number of interactions with academic partners is particularly crucial—the company is currently collaborating with 38 scientific partners. Rapid implementation, he stated, is the “most important currency.” Gabler also stressed the importance of the individuals involved and pointed out that collaboration is not always primarily about financial gain, succinctly remarking: “Those who set the standard hold the power.” In the context of science-based spin-offs, the discussion further underlined how vital such collaborations are for Berlin as a hub of innovation. Beyond additional expertise, digital protection plays a particularly significant role. Data spaces are developing rapidly and close cooperation with ECDF represents a key building block in this process. The shared goal is to enable more startups and thereby strengthen a sustainable economic environment.

Overall, the Industry Forum clearly demonstrated that successful collaborations should create sustainable structures that extend beyond individual project durations. This requires clearly defined shared objectives and a willingness to move into concrete implementation. The future viability of data-driven research and innovation in Berlin will largely depend on trustworthy partnerships, clear framework conditions and the strategic integration of academia and industry.