Institute News

Women are still significantly underrepresented in IT professions. Only about 8 percent of all IT apprentices in Germany are female (source: Statistisches Bundesamt, 2020). The IT world of work has traditionally been considered a male domain, even though programming, for example, was still a typical female occupation in the 1980s as busywork for office staff. One exception was the U.S. computer scientist and computer pioneer Grace Hopper who worked with the Mark I, the world’s first fully electronic computer, at Harvard University from the mid-1940s.

There are also economic reasons why policymakers and the industry are trying to attract more women to IT professions: Due to the shortage of skilled workers, vacant IT positions can no longer be filled (source: Handelsblatt) . Nevertheless, young women in the IT sector still have to contend with obstacles and prejudices.

We asked Cristiane Stülp about her personal experiences on her way to becoming an IT specialist and what advice she would give to young women interested in following the same career path.

The young Brazilian with German roots emphasizes that, at the beginning of her path, a certain amount of risk-taking was required to even go to Germany. Her family played an important role. In a way, her older sister, who had completed an agricultural internship in Germany, served as a female role model. Cristiane Stülp had initially planned only a one-year internship – in the meantime, she has been in Germany for almost five years.

The IT specialist reports that her family has an agricultural business in Brazil. However, her parents never mapped out her career path in accordance with their expectations, but were always open to her own career aspirations. One thing she learnt from the agricultural environment was to assert herself. She emphasizes that she is not afraid of working as the only women in a team of men.

Her interest in IT came also from her personal background. Even as a girl, she had to stand up to her brothers to get her fair share of limited computer time. Her partner, who works in the IT sector, always encouraged her to pursue her interests in the field and to look for a vocational training. This again required assertiveness and persistence – both in dealing with the immigration authorities and in the search for a vocational training institution.

When choosing her career, she never had anyone advising her against an IT vocational training – although many were surprised. For her colleagues, too, it was new territory to no longer work only among men – but she never encountered any prejudice or resistance in the IT team, which Cristiane Stülp likes to jokingly call “my guys”. On the contrary, she has experienced great appreciation, support, and encouragement.

Working in a mixed team has proved successful. The IT department would like to recruit more female trainees, but there is a shortage of applicants. In the last round of applications, their share was far below 5 percent. When it comes to internal tasks, Cristiane Stülp also likes to seek out responsibility, for example for the younger apprentices. She believes that it is her specifically “female” quality that she can identify organizational improvement potential and thus contribute to solutions with greater sustainability as part of the team.

Although women tend to have higher exit rates in male-dominated professions (source: Accenture, 2020), Cristiane wants to continue working in the IT field after her training. She is particularly interested in system administration. She is happy to continue working at the Institute after her exams.

The training and examination period during the COVID-19 pandemic brought great additional challenges and also personal losses – Cristiane Stülp overcame all this with great mental strength and maturity. She also emphasizes that it was striking that she encountered very few young female IT trainees in the vocational school environment, but rather independent adult women.

After her successful training, she is first and foremost looking forward to seeing her family in Brazil as soon as this is possible. At the end of the interview, she makes a wonderful closing statement: “I, as a woman here at the Institute, am just happy.” She would take the same path again at any time.

(The interview was conducted by Myriam Rion, Hella Schuster, and Ulrike Garlet.)

The growth of the Institute’s scientific reputation during his tenure is due in great measure to his scientific achievements in the fields of unfair competition and copyright law. With large-scale comparative law studies he laid the foundations for the European harmonisation in unfair competition law, where his primary concern was a consumer-protection orientation of the field. Subsequent generations of scholars associate his name above all with the leading commentary on German copyright law that he founded. Not only was he a pervasive and system-building force in the field of copyright. He also fought for legislative improvements to the contractual protection of authors, while sending clear messages to adversaries. He received many honours for his scientific achievements, chief among them honorary doctorates from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, the University of Stockholm and Yonsei University in Seoul.

In Germany and many other parts of the world one encounters an impressive number of his former PhD candidates and students who today hold leading positions in legal scholarship and practice. Furthermore, as a full professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich one of his highest priorities was always the training of undergraduate students. Thus he did not hesitate to take on the double burden of directing the Institute on his own after the retirement of his colleague and close friend Friedrich-Karl Beier, while at the same time carrying out his main duties at the University until his scheduled retirement date.

Nor were these later years an easy time for the Institute, whose very existence was at stake. Gerhard Schricker succeeded in turning the tide and securing its continuation. This was due primarily to his proposal to establish a globally leading course of studies in intellectual property law in collaboration with partner universities, at the time an attractive science policy move for the Max Planck Society. The appointment of not one but several new directors just after the turn of the millennium and the creation of the degree programme at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center offered together with the University of Augsburg, TU Munich and George Washington University show that Gerhard Schricker deserves particular gratitude for having paved the way for the Institute’s future.

Most of the Institute’s current employees were not able to get to know Gerhard Schricker personally, as shortly after his retirement ill health forced him to give up his research activities and retire completely into private family life. It is there that he has died after many years of serious illness. He will be remembered by many for his refined mind, his constant and caring support and at the same time for his modest nature.

Personal Webpage of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Gerhard Schricker

On behalf of the state government of Lower Saxony, a team of experts chaired by Prof. Dietmar Harhoff, Ph.D., Director at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, has developed options for action on how the federal state can respond to current major societal challenges. In the next few years, the course will be set for future developments. 

Eleven renowned scientists had agreed to develop recommendations for the future. The commission took up its work as an independent and autonomous body of experts on 1 July 2019. The highly interdisciplinary panel identified five areas in which the state faces particular challenges, but that also affect other states and countries: (1) demographic developments, (2) climate change, (3) globalization, (4) digitalization, and (5) the preservation of social cohesion. Ten fields of action were examined along these challenges, within which general development trends as well as opportunities and risks for the state were identified.

These fields of action comprise the topics (1) demography and generations, (2) immigration and diversity, (3) work, employment and upskilling, (4) health and care, (5) landscape, energy and climate change, (6) agricultural and food economy, (7) mobility, (8) research and innovation, (9) high-tech strategy, robotics and AI, and (10) digitalization.

Finally, the commission presented particularly relevant options for action and core recommendations. These are intended to help ensure that the state can fully exploit its potential for a future-proof, successful development, and will be economically, socially, and ecologically sustainable in 2030.

The commission submitted the final report with its recommendations to the government of Lower Saxony on 25 March 2021. It is available online on the website of the state of Lower Saxony.

In July 2019, the founding commission chaired by Dietmar Harhoff had issued recommendations for the new Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND). Based on these recommendations, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy have appointed the software entrepreneur and open source pioneer Rafael Laguna de la Vera founding director of the new Agency. The SprinD GmbH was founded on 16 December 2019, with headquarters in Leipzig. Sole shareholder is the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation is closing a gap in the German innovation landscape. SPRIND identifies new, groundbreaking technologies for the major challenges of our time and ensures at the same time that the added value of emerging companies and industries remains in Germany and Europe.

On 22 September, the Supervisory Board of the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation was inaugurated. The board consists of up to ten members who both represent the Federal Government as 100% shareholder and bring expertise from science and industry to the board.

The Members of the Supervisory Board are:

• Yasmin Fahimi, German Bundestag
• Prof. Dietmar Harhoff, Ph.D., Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
• Dr.-Ing. E. h. Peter Leibinger, TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG (Chair of the Supervisory Board)
• Dr. Kristina Klas, Federal Ministry of Finance
• Susanne Klatten, SKion GmbH
• Ronja Kemmer (designated), German Bundestag
• Prof. Dr. Wolf-Dieter Lukas, Federal Ministry of Education and Research
• Dr. Ulrich Nußbaum, Federal Ministry for Economic Affaits and Energy
• Maximilian Viessmann, Viessmann Werke GmbH & Co. KG
• Prof. Dr. Birgitta Wolff, Goethe University Frankfurt (Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board)

Chair of the Supervisory Board is Dr. Ing. E. h. Peter Leibinger, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Vice Chairman of the TRUMPF Group Management Board. He emphasizes, “In Germany, the cooperation between fundamental research, applied science and innovative companies should be expanded. We will be able to tap the full potential of our country if our research leads to marketable products, new jobs, and an international competitive edge in new industries. The Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation can make an effective contribution to this.”

Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board is the President of the Goethe University Frankfurt, Prof. Dr. Birgitta Wolff. She explains, “We spend more than three percent of our gross national product on research and development, which puts us at the top in Europe. With SPRIND, we want to build a solid bridge from science to industry – a meeting place for outstanding minds in our country who not only want to think up the future, but also want to help shape it as researchers and entrepreneurs.”

At the inaugural meeting in Leipzig, the Supervisory Board has already made the decision to found a first project company, which is to drive a radical innovation in the generation of wind energy. The ground-mounted generator of the “Bendix wind turbine” can take full advantage of stronger winds without overloading the generator, which currently limits the performance of conventional wind turbines. “This is not only highly innovative from a technical point of view, but also economically gratifying”, says Raffael Laguna de la Vera.

Further innovation projects are currently in the validation phase. So far, almost 300 project proposals have been submitted and are being reviewed by a committee of experts.

More information:

Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND)

The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Seminar Series – until the end of 2019 under the name Brown Bag Seminar Series – of the Department headed by Dietmar Harhoff was established in 2013. The seminars usually take place once a week and are open to members of the Institute as well as to external researchers and students. Since the start, the series has hosted more then 150 guest speakers from all over Europe, the US, Canada, Africa, and Asia.

To the Seminar Series

Upcoming Events

From 2 to 4 June 2020, the Center for Law & Economics at ETH Zurich, the Chair for Technology and Innovation Management at TUM, the Institute for Strategy, Technology and Organization at LMU Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition will jointly organize the fifth Munich Summer Institute.

The Summer Institute will focus on three areas:

• Digitization, Strategy and Organization
  (chairs: Jörg Claussen and Tobias Kretschmer),
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  (chairs: Dietmar Harhoff, Joachim Henkel and Hanna Hottenrott), and
• Law & Economics of Intellectual Property and Innovation
  (chair: Stefan Bechtold).

The goal of the Munich Summer Institute is to stimulate a rigorous in-depth discussion of a select number of research papers and to strengthen the interdisciplinary international research community in these areas. Researchers in economics, law, management and related fields at all stages of their career (from Ph.D. students to full professors) may attend the Munich Summer Institute as presenters in a plenary or a poster session, as discussants or as attendants. The Munich Summer Institute will feature three keynote lectures, 18 plenary presentations and a daily poster session (including a poster slam). Paper presentations will be grouped by topics, not discipline or method. The Munich Summer Institute will be held at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in the heart of Munich. Participation is by invitation only. The organizers will fund travel and hotel expenses for all plenary speakers and hotel expenses for all poster presenters and invited discussants.

Keynote speakers are:

• Pierre Regibeau (European Commission)
• Reinhilde Veugelers (KU Leuven)
• Christopher Sprigman (NYU)

Paper submission procedure

Researchers who would like to present a paper are invited to submit their paper online until 29 February 2020, at  http://editorialexpress.com/conference/msi2020. The Munich Summer Institute only considers papers which have not been published or accepted for publication at the date of submission. Paper selections will be announced in early April 2020. The program of the Munich Summer Institute will be available in early May 2020. Final papers will be made available to conference participants on a public website, and are due on 1 May 2020. Researchers who would like to attend the Munich Summer Institute without giving a presentation should contact one of the organizers by 1 May 2020.

Further information

More information is available at the MSI website. Any questions concerning the Munich Summer Institute should be directed to Stefan Bechtold, Jörg Claussen, Dietmar Harhoff, Joachim Henkel, Hanna Hottenrott or Tobias Kretschmer.

On behalf of the state government of Lower Saxony, a team of experts chaired by Dietmar Harhoff is to develop options for action on how the federal state can respond to current major societal challenges. In the next few years, the course will be set for future developments. By the end of 2020, twelve renowned experts are to analyze opportunities and challenges.

Harhoff does not want to anticipate possible results. However, the Commission could “point out options for action, reveal weaknesses and make recommendations” – with a long-term perspective. “Those who only think until the end of any given legislative period cannot implement major plans,” says Harhoff. “The period up to the year 2030 is a good medium-term planning horizon for state policy.”

Digitalization

Of all the changes, digitalization is probably the most far-reaching. For example, in the area of mobility, major innovations are likely to change the choices for users. “Many experts anticipate, for example, that forms of autonomous driving in which drivers become passengers but still have to intervene at some point, will become wide-spread by 2030.” In addition to the federal government and local authorities, the federal state also has to prepare for this – for example, by setting regulatory guidelines for autonomous driving or by providing test-beds for the new technology.

Climate Change

According to Harhoff, Lower Saxony, as a coastal state, is particularly affected by climate change – and therefore particularly called upon to commit itself to climate protection. “The state can, for example, use subsidies to set a direction in research and say: This is relevant”. The Commission could also draw the politicians’ attention to good examples according to the best practice principle. The neighboring country, the Netherlands, for example, has been dealing with coastal protection for centuries. Recently, the neighbors  have attracted attention with a speed limit of 100 km/h to reduce nitrogen oxides, and the country is also regarded as a pioneer in the expansion of cycling.

Migration

The issue of migration has now become less dominant in politics – but the Commission will deal with it anyway. “The question of immigration is also a cultural question,” says Harhoff and explains: “In Japan, for example, robotics is being promoted so strongly because, in view of an ageing society, citizens prefer to rely on robots rather than immigrants in nursing care. For Lower Saxony, the main issue is how the integration of immigrants can be supported or how the shortage of skilled workers can be compensated.

The Commission’s Objective

“Scientists are not the better politicians,” Harhoff says. “We can, however, advise politicians on difficult decisions. This will require patience and perseverance. Many of the Commission’s topics are so broad that it will take time until the effects of individual changes become apparent. “By 2025 we can see whether our recommendations will be taken up and whether, for example, there will be intense political discussions in the Lower Saxony Parliament,” says Harhoff. “By 2030, I would hope that some of the measures taken will show initial effects. Especially with regard to nutrition and climate change, the changes take a lot of time, so you have to start early.”

More information (in German):
Pressespiegel
Kommission Niedersachsen 2030