Germany
Jürgen Vogel
egion: Germany: Bavaria
Organisation: bavAIRia e.V.
EMMIA PLP: Founding member and Co-ordinator PLP
Since April 2011 Jürgen Vogel is Co-ordinator International Programmes at bavAIRia e.V., Oberpfaffenhofen. bavAIRia is the Bavarian Aerospace Cluster mandated by the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology. Jürgen’s expertise is in regional innovation support, since 2005 he focuses on fostering applications for the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems GALILEO and EGNOS. Currently, he co-ordinates the European Mobile and Mobility Industries Alliance’s Policy Learning Platform, an initiative of the European Commission co-financed the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme. From September 2000 to April 2012 he has been European Project Co-ordinator with GründerRegio M, Munich, the regional support platform and bottom-up structure to foster knowledge-based spin-offs and innovation in the Greater Munich Area. Many times he has been invited as expert to the European Commission in workshops on technology related innovation and space-related issues. Jürgen holds a Dr. rer.nat. in physics from the University of Erlangen, Bavaria, has been a Feodor-Lynen fellow of the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, while a postdoc at Brown University, RI, and is founder of SciComm e.K. Hobbies are hiking in the mountains and skiing.
Karin Drda-Kühn
Region: Germany:Bad Mergentheim
Organisation: media k GmbH
EMMIA PLP: Chair & Expert (Working Group: Better access to finance)
Managing director of media k GmbH, a company specialised in the co-ordination of European practical and research projects in the creative industries, ICT and energy sector. Moreover, since 2006 she is managing director of the Association Culture and Work, a Europe-widely active qualification institution for the creative industries. Her current research interest focuses on cultural tourism in rural regions, also predominant in her current publications. She strongly believes in the power of networking and prefers to carry out interdisciplinary tasks. In 2010, she was appointed "European Ambassador for Women Entrepreneurship” by the European Commission.
Dieter Geiger
Region: Germany: Baden-Württemberg
Organisation: ITS Baden-Württemberg e.V.
EMMIA PLP: Expert (Working Group: Better access to finance)
Dieter Geiger, chairman of the board and managing director of ITS Network Germany e.V., the German umbrella organisation of local and regional associations as well as subject oriented federations. Furthermore, since 2001 he is member of the board of ITS Baden Württemberg.
As vice president business development Complete Transportation of Siemens AG, Munich he has accomplished a broad industrial experience for the development of GNSS based solutions and applications for the Industry Sector of Siemens AG.
He is convinced that the convergence between ITS/ ICT and GNSS technologies is the key that will drive business for innovative mobility solutions in our society
Franz Schafranski
Region: Germany: Rheinland-Pfalz
Organisation: Projektenttwicklungsgeselschaft des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz (PER)
EMMIA L-SD: LIMES
Dr. Franz Schafranski worked as a researcher at the University of Kaiserslautern, Department of Regional and Environmental Planning for many years. During this time he was responsible for lecture as well as for research. The research activities were focused on the initiation and implementation of pilot projects in cooperation with policy makers, institutions and consulting engineers. Themes of the projects were e.g. landscape culture development, compilation of cultural-historic elements of landscapes, methods of analysis and valuation, sustainable tourism and processes of cooperation. Since 2008 he is working as a project manager at the Project Development Company Rheinland-Pfalz mbH (PER). In this function he was responsible for the development of World Heritage "Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes" in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Wolfgang Kniejski
Region: Germany Leipzig
Organisation: Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmbH
EMMIA L-SD: Grow Mobile
After finishing studying business management and economics at the University of Mannheim, Germany, Wolfgang Kniejski started his business career in 1991 as the Financial Manager of Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, in Darmstadt, Germany. In 1999 he took the position as Business Manager of INI-GraphicsNet Foundation, since 2004 he was appointed as its Treasurer and Business Director.
In this capacity he developed and implemented successfully methodologies and processes to support the technology commercialisation for universities and research institutions via licensing and spin-off activities. Mr. Kniejski spun his technology commercialisation knowledge off into his own company and created INI-Novation GmbH as an innovation management and consulting entity. In 2006, he won the innovation award of the Singaporean government for exploiting the integrated technology commercialisation concept to Singapore.
He was appointed as innovation consultant by different governmental agencies on an international level to develop concept for High-Tech Incubators and Business and Science Parks, and he is also jury member in several international business plan and idea competitions.
Today, Mr. Kniejski is running his own consulting business in the fields of technology transfer, innovation policies and SME development. He is represented as shareholder in the Boards of several high-tech spin-off companies and technology transfer organisations all over the world, as well as through his membership in several professional advisory bodies.
Rainer Horn
Region: Germany: Munich
Organisation: SpaceTec Capital Partners GmbH
EMMIA AFA: MOBICAP
Rainer Horn is the Managing Partner of SpaceTec Capital Partners, an advisory and investment group engaged in Mobility, Geo- and Space Applications Business. SpaceTec Capital Partners serve start-ups as coaches and early stage investors from their offices in Munich and Brussels. SpaceTec Capital has accreditation as coach from leading seed funds like the Hightech-Gründerfonds and BayernKapital.
SpaceTec Capital is leading MOBICAP, the Access to Finance initiative within EMMIA. MOBICAP is developing an early-stage venture fund for mobility and mobile services and a corresponding eco-system of co-investment schemes, coaching network and matchmaking.
Prior to SpaceTec Capital Mr Horn was a Finance Director at Booz & Co and leader of the Space Services and Telematics Practice. He served private and institutional clients in automotive, telecoms, aerospace and transportation – including product innovation, project financing and public private partnerships. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and business degrees from ESB Reutlingen/London. He is a member of the European Commission’s Galileo Advisory Board (MEAG).
Kai Bünseler
Region: City of Dortmund
Organisation: City of Dortmund Economic Development Agency
Kai Bünseler – Clustermanager ICT of the dortmund-project, a division of the economic development agency of the city of Dortmund. In this project, he combines urban, economic and scientific forces to form strong sectors in the region of Dortmund. Before becoming Clustermanager, he worked as a project manager for start2grow, an initiative of the dortmund-project, which is one of the most relevant founder contests in Germany. So he knows about what SME´s need for growing and developing new innovative products and services. His special interest is networking, to bring together several makers also from different clusters. Therefore he took part in the three years lasting Interreg project called Clusters and Cities Network (CLUSNET).
