INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY BREMEN

Major Gift from Metall Unterweser Endows IUB

   

[ Sep 22, 2000]  On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of its founding, the Bremen-based group of technology and metal manufacturers and service providers Metall Unterweser formally announced the establishment of a foundation to support the activities of the International University Bremen at a celebratory meeting on the campus of University on September 21, 2000. The new foundation has been funded at an amount in excess of DM 10 million. The funds will be maintained by the foundation on behalf of IUB, pending the formally opening of classes at the University in September, 2001. In the meantime, the University has the use of interest earned on the fund, which will amount to approximately DM 500 000 annually to support normal operations, including stipends, faculty salaries, the library, and administrative costs.

In his remarks announcing the foundation, Metall Unterweser chair Ingo Kramer asserted his confidence in IUB as a new engine for change and growth in this region. "This is an investment in the future," he said. Also speaking at the ceremony was Bremen Bürgermeister Hartmut Perschau, who cited the special relationship between education and business that has long characterised public life in Bremen. Commenting on the high ambitions of IUB within the context of Bremen's own record of achievement as a commercial center worldwide, Perschau stated his opinion that, "Whoever does not stand at the forefront of progress can not remain at the forefront of competition."

The main speaker at the event, which was attended by some two-hundred invited guests, was President of the General Direction of the Arbed Group, a steel manufacturing firm based in Luxembourg, Fernand Wagner. Mr. Wagner focused his remarks on the need within Europe to reinvent education and ramp up research efforts in response to the threats to Europe's competitive position in the world of manufacturing as well as service delivery. He cited figures showing that in Europe a much smaller percent of employees are engaged in research and design (2.5%) than in Japan (6%) or in the United States (6.7). Although a small university, IUB through its Science Park and other strategic alliances is committed to increasing the amount of effort being expended on theoretical and practical research in Northern Germany and Europe as a whole.

At the same meeting, the group of industrialists also committed DM 3 million to the support of continuing education for employees of the member businesses.

 


Author: Archiv. Last updated on 23.06.2005. © 2005 International University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen. All rights reserved. No unauthorized reproduction. http://www.iu-bremen.de. For all general inquiries, please call IUB at +49 421 200-4100 or mail to iub@iu-bremen.de.