You are IG Metall’s representative in a ‘cluster’ that brings together 200 partners from the worlds of business and research in the East Westphalia-Lippe region. Your work focuses on the creation and implementation of AI applications and on supporting works councils on these issues. What does this work consist of?
Since the 2010s, Germany has taken a keen interest in the concept of Industry 4.0 and smart factories, i.e. connected and intelligent factories. The German government has supported these developments through three funding campaigns, which have led to the emergence of several centres of excellence, or clusters, across the country. One of these is ‘It’s OWL’, which specialises in intelligent and sustainable technical systems and was established in 2012 on the campus of Bielefeld University, between Dortmund and Hanover, in the centre of East Westphalia-Lippe. This region is characterised by a dense network of family-owned businesses ranging from SMEs to mid-sized companies, the famous German Mittelstand.
As a Berlin correspondent for the French and Swiss press since the late 1990s, I cover a wide range of economic, political and social issues, with a particular focus on the German business and labour market. My areas of interest include co-determination, digitalisation, demographics and ESG/DEI policies.