The Bonn Region – a Base for Science and Technology
The Bonn Region has a well-established tradition of hosting world-class research and science institutions and has constantly been expanded in the last decade, now being part of regional and supra-regional networks. Together with the science- and research institutions located in this region, the City of Bonn, the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis and the Kreis Ahrweiler form the Bonn Region – a base for Science and Technology.
The Bonn Region has grown into one of the leading locations together with the University of Bonn and six locations of universities of applied sciences. They are joined by the Fraunhofer Campus in Birlinghoven and in Wachtberg, Max Planck Institutes, the German Aerospace Centre DLR, the international research centre ceasar, the Alanus University of Arts and Social Science, the Research Establishment for Applied Science FGAN, the Wissenschaftszentrum Bonn and the national science organisations (DFG, DAAD, Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung/Foundation etc.), with the Deutsches Museum Bonn and many other institutions.
Furthermore, the City of Bonn is home to the most prestigious organisations to promote and fund science and research. The Wissenschaftszentrum Bonn, a renowned centre for scientific conferences and events, also houses more than 20 national and international institutions which all promote research and science. Among those institutions are the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst (DAAD), the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Stiftung (AvH), the Leibniz-Gemeinschaft and many more. Adjacent to the Wissenschaftszentrum Bonn is the Deutsche Museum Bonn, attracting visitors from around the world with its exhibitions on science and engineering.
The Bonn Region mastered its structural change extraordinary well after the German Parliament and parts of the ministries had moved to Berlin. With the foundation of the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg with branches in Sankt Augustin, Rheinbach and Hennef and the establishment of the International University IUBH in Bad Honnef, the RheinAhrCampus in Remagen and the Bonn-Aachen International Centre for Information Technology (B-IT) a variety of institutions were founded in the past decade to offer a wide range of education and training. Most recently, the University of Bonn was joined by three more independent research centres, focussing on development research (ZEF), European integration studies (ZEI) and Life&Brain, with its expertise in neurology.
The science and research institutions in the Bonn Region jointly organize a great portfolio of activities and events. Hence they commonly present themselves at various international fairs and, for example, at the famous Bonner Wissenschaftsnacht and many other public or scientific events, which are all part of their portfolio.
The great extent of cooperation between science institutions and business companies in recent years, which forms a network to support start-ups and spin-offs, as well as new cooperations between science and culture, are important characteristics of the Bonn Region.
