Industry network doubles membership
ITnet Thüringen e.V. is growing: the industry association has more than doubled its membership since it was formed at the beginning of the year, rapidly becoming an influential voice for Thuringia’s IT industry on matters such as the implementation of strategies for digitalization in business and administration. The network brings together and represents parties from across the IT sector, including software developers, infrastructure providers, consultants, trainers and web design agencies.
Rosy future for Jena
Jena has again ranked well in the ‘Future Atlas’ produced by Prognos, which investigates 402 independent towns and administrative districts every three years to find out how they are likely to fare in the future. In the latest rankings, Jena was again considered to have ‘very good prospects’, the second-best category. In terms of digitalization and demography, the city’s prospects were described as particularly good: it is in seventh place for demography, which makes it the third-best city in eastern Germany in that category.
Iranian university opens office in Erfurt
Iran’s Islamic Azad University (I.A.U.), founded in 1982, opened a liaison office in Erfurt in July to coordinate academic connections with Thuringia and the rest of Germany. The choice of Erfurt is a result of the visit to Iran by Minister of Economic Affairs Wolfgang Tiefensee in May. As early as June, the university signed a memorandum of understanding with the universities of applied sciences in Erfurt and Nordhausen. The universities plan to exchange students and teaching staff, set up joint structures and organize joint research projects. To develop connections with Ilmenau University of Technology is also planned.
