Project Overview

The aim of the project is to embed circular construction and renovation more firmly in practice in the Münsterland region. The focus is on the transfer of knowledge and technology: AziBauM brings together expertise from the skilled trades, businesses, local authorities, academia and the education sector, highlights practical solutions and supports their implementation. 

A central hub is being established at the Construction and Energy Demonstration Centre of the Münster Chamber of Skilled Trades. There, circular building materials, components and innovative solutions will be presented in a clear and practical manner. This offering is complemented by a mobile exhibition that brings the topic to the wider region. 

Target groups 

• Skilled trades businesses and other companies in the construction sector 
• Architects and planners 
• Local authorities and public developers 
• Educational institutions and opinion leaders 
• Other stakeholders involved in construction, renovation and demolition 

Project objectives 

• To raise awareness of circular construction and renovation in the Münsterland region and make it more practical to apply 
• Bringing together expertise from the trades, business, academia and local authorities 
• Raising awareness among businesses about circular construction methods and materials and equipping them with the necessary skills 
• Highlighting best practice, innovative products and regional expertise 
• Initiate new collaborations and networks along the construction value chain 
• Promoting the reuse of building materials and components 
• Establishing sustainable structures for knowledge transfer on circular construction within the region 

Planned measures 

• Setting up a permanent information exhibition and a rotating exhibition at the Construction and Energy Demonstration Centre 
• Developing a mobile exhibition for use throughout the Münsterland region 
• Organising workshops, training courses and information events 
• Establishing a network of regional hub and satellite locations 
• Training of key communicators 
• Development of a digital map featuring stakeholders, services and best practice examples from the region 
• Fostering links between the skilled trades, business, academia and local authorities 
• Organising specialist events and regional exchange forums 

The “DigiFaBs Digital Change Agents for Food and Beverage SMEs” project is funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ Partnerships for Innovation Alliances and coordinated by Münster University of Applied Sciences. The project brings together a consortium of 14 partners from 7 European regions. These include five higher education institutions, two vocational training organisations, four SMEs, one regional public body, one social partner and one NGO, all of which are working to advance the food and beverage sector. The food and beverage industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the European Union.

In the food and beverage industry, more and more companies are turning to new technologies and capitalising on the opportunities offered by digitalisation. However, this poses major challenges for many small and medium-sized enterprises. This is where the new EU project comes in: DigiFABS – Responsible Dynamic Digital Change Agents for Food and Beverage SMEs. The aim of the project is to promote digital skills, resilience and innovation capabilities in SMEs within the food and beverage industry. WESt is a partner in this EU project, which is being coordinated across Europe by Münster University of Applied Sciences.

Over the next three years, the project partners will work to develop an innovative programme to promote the level of digitalisation in companies within the food and beverage sector. At the heart of the project is close collaboration between universities and businesses. The project activities include a summer school for students, a boot camp for teaching staff and businesses, and a challenge. The first round of boot camps and the subsequent challenge is planned for the second half of 2025. WESt’s role is to encourage regional companies from the food and beverage industry to take part in the boot camps and the subsequent challenge. This will provide small and medium-sized enterprises in the Steinfurt district in particular with valuable impetus in the field of digital transformation. Furthermore, there are plans to establish a European network of DigiFABS hubs, which will continue to operate after the DigiFABS project has concluded.

Find out more DigiFABS on LinkedIn DigiFABS on Instagram

The abbreviation ‘ESG’ stands for ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’. These three pillars are used to assess the sustainability and ethical impact of a company or organisation.

• ‘Environment’ refers to the way in which a company interacts with the natural environment, including its practices regarding environmental protection, resource use and climate change.

• ‘Social’ refers to the company’s relationships with its employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which it operates. This includes issues such as workers’ rights, social justice and contributions to the community.

• ‘Governance’ encompasses the internal systems, practices and policies that determine how a company is managed and controlled. These include, amongst other things, corporate ethics, transparency, business practices and shareholder rights.

At EU level and in Germany, the ESG concept is embedded in several legal frameworks (including the EU Taxonomy Regulation, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the German Sustainability Code (DNK)).

Companies that implement ESG practices benefit from numerous advantages in addition to legal and regulatory compliance:

• improved access to finance in the long term;

• market positioning and competitive advantage;

• Strengthening of the brand and customer trust;

• employee motivation and retention;

• operational efficiency (e.g. through energy savings, reduced resource consumption or waste reduction).

Planned activities and key outcomes:

1. Development of the ESG manager profile and an ESG curriculum;

2. Development and piloting of a vocational training course on ESG transformation in SMEs;

3. Development of a simulation game (app) to improve the skills and competences of business leaders in the field of ESG;

4. Production of a policy handbook with recommendations for policy-makers to promote ESG practices and further disseminate the ESGM profile at EU level.

Note: This project is funded with the support of the European Union.

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The project team aims to inspire those interested in starting a business, as well as entrepreneurs, to embrace the issue of sustainability, encourage them to rethink their approach, and support start-up projects that contribute to the ecological transition.

Particular emphasis is placed on knowledge transfer and collaboration between the academic world and the start-up scene.

Throughout the project, targeted initiatives in the field of ecological transformation will be implemented for the start-up community, for example:

Raising awareness of and encouraging ecologically sustainable start-ups through best-practice examples and the dissemination
of information Interactive knowledge transfer by experts from academia and industry for (potential) environmentally sustainable start-ups
Networking events centred on the ecological transformation of start-up ideas and projects.
In addition to WESt, the project partners are Technologieförderung Münster GmbH, the Economic Development Agency for the District of Borken mbH, the Economic Development Agency for the District of Coesfeld mbH, gfw – Gesellschaft für Wirtschaftsförderung im Kreis Warendorf mbH, the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), the Münster Chamber of Crafts and the Münster University of Applied Sciences. The lead partner is Münsterland e.V.

Other supporters include the University of Münster, the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences and TAFH Münster GmbH.

The project is funded through the EU’s ERDF programme and has a total budget of 1.26 million euros. It will run until 28 February 2027.

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An important investment in the future is to teach pupils at an early age that they can tackle and resolve societal challenges through entrepreneurial action. This should motivate them to take action themselves and bring about positive change in their local communities.

We aim to raise awareness of social entrepreneurship amongst school pupils in the Steinfurt district, to inspire them from an early age with innovative, sustainable and social business models, and to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to bring their own ideas and projects to life. The project is thus designed to fill an important gap in the curriculum.

In the long term, ‘Zukunft unternehmen!’ also contributes to attracting skilled workers and further developing the local start-up ecosystem. Through partnerships with regional businesses, start-ups and initiatives, the project aims to promote practical application and exchange with the business community.

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The ReNET-EV project focuses on the climate-friendly transformation of industrial estates in the Münsterland region. Ten pilot sites are being analysed in terms of their energy requirements, potential and infrastructure, and modelled as digital twins in order to identify optimal supply concepts. In parallel, suitable cooperative incentive and operational structures are being developed conceptually to spread the necessary investment costs and create incentives for the large-scale deployment of renewable energy. The wide variety of pilot areas in terms of location, status and corporate structure ensures that the results can be transferred to other sites within North Rhine-Westphalia. This makes a significant contribution towards achieving the goal of developing North Rhine-Westphalia into Europe’s first climate-neutral industrial region.

The project partners and funding amounts in detail: 

1. Wirtschaftsförderung Münster GmbH (project coordination): approximately 368,000 euros
2. FH Münster University of Applied Sciences: approximately 399,000 euros
3. Kerith GmbH: around 368,000 euros
4. Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft für den Kreis Borken mbH (WFG): around 92,000 euros
5. Wirtschaftsförderung Kreis Coesfeld GmbH (wfc): around 92,000 euros
6. Steinfurt Economic Development and Promotion Company mbH (WESt): around 92,000 euros
7. Warendorf District Economic Development Company mbH (gfw): approximately 92,000 euros

The project is funded through the EU’s ERDF programme and will run until 30 June 2029.

The “TOR@Münsterland” project addresses key challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Münsterland region, which are under increased pressure to adapt due to shorter technology life cycles, climate change, geopolitical tensions and disrupted supply chains. These dynamics require businesses to demonstrate strong technological and operational resilience in order to remain competitive in the long term.

The project has two main objectives:

1. Development of digital tools: A self-assessment tool enables companies to carry out a data-driven analysis of their resilience status. AI-based technology scouting software helps SMEs to identify future-relevant technological trends at an early stage.
2. Resilience Leadership Programme: Managers are empowered to implement resilience-building measures and make strategic decisions for crisis management.

The project partners in detail:

• Münsterland e. V. (lead partner)
• FH Münster University of Applied Sciences
• North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce
• Coesfeld District Economic Development Agency GmbH (wfc)
• Warendorf District Economic Development Company Ltd (gfw)
• Steinfurt Economic Development and Promotion Company Ltd
• Borken District Economic Development Agency (WFG)
• Steinfurt Economic Development and Promotion Company mbH
• Technology Promotion Münster GmbH (TFM)
• Digital Hub münsterLAND e. V.

The project is funded through the EU’s ERDF programme and will run until 31 May 2029.

Through its new ‘Resilient Regions’ initiative, the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Construction (BMWSB) is supporting rural areas in increasing their resilience to crises. Against the backdrop of climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression, new challenges are emerging for risk prevention and a region’s ability to adapt. The ‘Resilient Regions’ initiative is helping a total of 11 selected regions across the country to develop and implement strategies to strengthen their resilience.

The specific focuses of these regions vary considerably and are tailored to local conditions. The results of the pilot projects will subsequently be evaluated and made available to other regions.

With its project ‘Economic Resilience in the District of Steinfurt (WiReSt)’, the district of Steinfurt is part of the select group of funded areas. Global risks and local short-term events such as strikes, traffic congestion or road closures can lead to crises in the supply chain. Procuring materials then suddenly becomes a problem, and sales markets can collapse overnight. In such situations, companies are required to make ad hoc decisions, whilst taking sustainability aspects into account. The shortage of skilled workers further complicates matters.

Small and medium-sized enterprises therefore face major challenges in the face of fragile supply chains. In their day-to-day operations, they often lack the time and transparency needed to engage in a detailed analysis of long value chains.

WESt is carrying out the ‘WiReSt’ project in cooperation with Münster University of Applied Sciences. The plan is to develop an early-warning system in the form of a digital platform. Furthermore, the aim is to generate options for business adaptation strategies and to establish new areas of focus for economic development.

The aim is to increase the adaptability of the local economy and to ensure effective crisis prevention.

Being selected as a model region represents a genuine opportunity for the Steinfurt district and its local businesses to achieve sustainable stability and economic strength, serving as a role model for other regions. 

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The “Zukunft Unternehmensnachfolge Münsterland” project complements existing regional services in the field of business succession with essential measures that have so far been lacking in the region. It adopts an approach that places greater emphasis on business owners (as there are already numerous services available for business successors). The project addresses this gap by first actively raising awareness amongst businesses, at an early stage and on an equal footing, regarding business handover, whilst conveying the importance of ecological, digital and corporate cultural transformation (e.g. modern leadership concepts). In a second step, these engaged, potential business owners are then guided through a self-assessment platform to identify their company’s specific needs regarding future-proofing the business. Based on the self-assessment, a bespoke package of measures is drawn up, tailored to the company’s level of readiness. Needs-based project workshop formats are developed, whilst on-demand digital learning videos provide practical content on soft skills such as leadership techniques and styles, as well as methods of innovation management, for example Design Thinking. Furthermore, where appropriate, participants are referred to existing support services in the region. The platform and the project services are actively promoted via regional networks in order to reach a broad target audience and to foster sustainable business development in the long term.

The ‘Zukunft Unternehmensnachfolge Münsterland’ project aims to shape the succession process in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region in a forward-looking manner; specifically, this means: raising awareness of the issue of business succession amongst companies at an early stage and supporting them in positioning themselves for the future, so that they remain attractive to potential successors in the market. This increases the likelihood of successful business succession in the region. Specific operational objectives are: 

• Raising awareness of the issue of business handover amongst companies at an early stage, on an equal footing
• Identifying the needs required to make companies future-proof 
• Offering suitable measures to enhance the future viability and, consequently, the attractiveness of businesses in the business succession market