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Interview with Romina Kolb, Director of the Scientific Continuing Education Institute at Hochschule Karlsruhe (HKA), and Charlotte Joumier, Continuing Education Engineering Officer for KTUR² at the Continuing Education Service of the University of Strasbourg (UNISTRA).

The Continuing Education work priority aims to strengthen the skills of professionals in the Upper Rhine region, particularly in the health sector and the cross-border industrial field. It promotes cooperation between university continuing-education institutes, economic stakeholders, and institutions from the three countries, in order to identify skills needs and address them through adapted, concrete, cross-border and innovative training programs.

Question 1. Understanding the Needs of Economic Stakeholders
How do you identify the skills needs in the targeted sectors? 

Romina Kolb: We are conducting cross-border surveys and interviews with companies and healthcare actors in the Upper Rhine region. Combining quantitative and qualitative insights, we identify emerging skill trends and align regional specificities with a shared transnational strategy for workforce development. The close collaboration between the University of Strasbourg and the University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe allows us to share best practices and develop innovative approaches in continuing education.

If you want to take part in shaping the trainings of tomorrow,
please take a few minutes to tell us about your company’s training needs.

Question 2. Building on Regional Stakeholders
What types of partnerships are you establishing to co-develop these training offers? 

Charlotte Joumier: We are building partnerships with regional universities and employment agencies, to align our continuing education programmes with labour market needs in health and industry across the Upper Rhine. Upcoming collaborations with IHK/CCI and innovation agencies will boost visibility, connect us directly with companies, and ensure practical training offers rooted in regional realities and sustainable continuing education.

Question 3. Designing Relevant Cross-Border Training
What will the continuing education programs developed in the project look like? 

Romina Kolb: The design of the continuing education programmes is currently in the preparatory phase. Based on the results of our needs assessment, we will focus on key topics tailored to regional priorities. We also take cultural, linguistic, and regulatory differences between Germany, Switzerland and France into account. With regard to formats, we are pursuing a flexible approach. Combining in-person and online formats, these programmes will foster collaboration, accessibility, and innovation across borders.

Question 4. Organizing Pilot Training Sessions
When and how will the first cross-border training sessions be launched? 

Charlotte Joumier: The first cross-border pilot runs of the continuing education programmes will be planned in spring 2026 after the needs analyses have been evaluated. The first training courses are scheduled to start in November 2026. We are already focusing on several major themes: digital transition, cross-border transversal skills, and social and ecological transition.

Question 5. Towards a Sustainable and Structured Offering
How do you plan to ensure the sustainability of this dynamic after the project ends? 

Charlotte Joumier: To ensure lasting impact, we aim to create an alliance for cross-border continuing education in the Upper Rhine region. This network is intended to connect continuing education institutes and maintain long-term contact with companies and other regional partners. This close collaboration should ensure that the continuing education programmes not only close short-term skill gaps, but also contribute to securing skilled labour and competitiveness in the Upper Rhine region in the long term.

A key objective of the KTUR² project is to improve access to financing for early-stage innovation in the Upper Rhine by mapping existing funding instruments, identifying on-the-ground needs, and building sustainable, cross-border networks.
Prof. Dr. Dennis Steininger (Chair of Entrepreneurship, RPTU) and Dr. Alessandro Mazzetti (Head of Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Deputy Managing Director, Innovation Office, University of Basel), members of Work Package 4 dedicated to financing and innovation networks, share their insights on the region’s challenges, good practices, and the path toward a future trinational innovation fund.

Question 1. Mapping what already exists

How do you approach the diversity of funding instruments in such a complex, cross-border region?

Dennis:
« We have now finished the mapping for all three countries. A wide mix of instruments shows up: public grants, regional programmes, private venture capital pools, etc. France’s funding landscape is highly centralised, whereas Germany is fragmented into many small, sometimes competing hubs. The biggest barrier is access: warm introductions are still needed to get past the information asymmetry. »

Alessandro:
« Fragmentation and strong asymmetries (e.g. public funding in FR/DE vs. private funding in CH) are indeed very evident, and create a gap that is much less present in non-cross-boundary ecosystems (e.g. Silicon Valley in the US, Golden Triangle in the UK). »

Question 2. Identifying needs and good practices

How do you gather input from stakeholders and identify what’s truly needed on the ground?

Dennis:
« We have conducted several interviews with key actors from the KTUR ecosystem: funders, innovators and university researchers. Best practice examples are mentioned only sporadically; recurring pain points are tax and legal differences, lack of cross-border networks and entry barriers. The clear demand is for structured networks that can deliver real contacts and hands-on support. »

Question 3. Creating targeted networks

You’ve planned to set up three trinational networks focused on different funding types. What progress has been made so far?

Dennis:
« The three trinational networks — venture capital, public funding and open innovation — are still being assembled. The majority of interested people are investors. We are planning regular meetings to exchange best practices, validate needs and involve partners such as banks, business angels, research institutes and regional development agencies. »

Alessandro:
« We started planning and we have some ideas we believe can be quite interesting. We wish to implement exchange formats where similar stakeholders can interact with each other, creating synergies, but also where silos can be broken and different types of stakeholders will be able to talk to each other – to possibly find out how to complement each other. »

Question 4. Designing concrete matchmaking formats

A trinational investor speed-dating event has already been organized and will take place again. Can you tell us more about it?

Dennis:
« Our trinational investor speed dating aims to link innovative ideas with the right capital and enable cross-border deals. Preparation is complete: many startups applied, and a few will even be postponed to the next round because of oversubscription. At present the event is sector agnostic; future editions will potentially feature industry-specific tracks. »

Question 5. Toward a cross-border innovation fund

You're working on a roadmap for setting up a trinational innovation fund. What’s the vision behind it?

Dennis:
« The roadmap for a trinational innovation fund is taking shape. Initial analyses confirm a strong need, but the exact model will be refined within the networks and the work package. »

Alessandro:
« The landscape of knowledge and technology transfer is shifting, and the methodologies are changing – and startup creation is becoming the vehicle for this. In the Upper Rhine, similarly to the general continental Europe situation, there is a strong gap in early-stage funding to translate scientific discoveries from the lab to the market, and a trinational fund, regardless of the model, would bring the Upper Rhine to the level of the global best. »

The LabVisits are a series of events organised by the KTUR², in collaboration with the Pillar Economy / Säule Wirtschaft. They offer companies and researchers a direct immersion into leading-edge laboratories in the Upper Rhine region, to discover emerging technologies, exchange with R&D teams and identify concrete paths for collaboration around major industrial and technological challenges.

• 1st LabVisit – Industry of the Future 5.0 at ICAM Strasbourg
  On 18 June 2025, the first visit led participants to the “Industry of the Future 5.0” R&D platform of ICAM Strasbourg, the first of its kind in the Grand East region.

The discussions highlighted the strength of ICAM’s collaborative model and the possibility for companies to experiment with tomorrow’s technologies alongside them.

And afterwards?

– A discovery day for executive teams, to understand the strategic stakes of 5.0;
– A sharing-experience day for industrialisation managers and project leaders;
– Specialisation days around themes such as predictive maintenance, cybersecurity or digital twins;
– And personalised support to concretely deploy 5.0 bricks within their organisation.

• 2nd LabVisit – Laser innovation and advanced technologies at IREPA LASER
  On 23 September 2025, the second LabVisit brought participants into IREPA LASER for an immersion into industrial innovation and laser processes.

The visit highlighted three key players:
– IREPA LASER, with a demonstration of laser-erosion micro-machining, a high-precision process for aeronautical and space applications;
– The labcom LASERSURF (IREPA LASER / ICube Strasbourg), where AI and robotics are transforming laser-process control;
– And the centre AERIAL, which presented FEERIX, a unique irradiation platform in Europe.

And afterwards? Companies interested can contact IREPA LASER to deepen a theme, organise a targeted technical visit or initiate an R&D collaboration project.

• Upcoming – 3rd LabVisit!

  On 20 November 2025 at 14:00, experience a unique visit at the laboratory IRIS – ICube Strasbourg, at the IHU Strasbourg! Explore surgical robots and tomorrow’s technologies, and attend live demos at the heart of medical innovation.

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The fifth edition of the trinational KTUR Summer School Entrepreneurship brought together 36 students from 12 universities and 17 different nationalities.

Organised by FHNW, the University of Fribourg, and the University of Strasbourg, the 2025 programme took a significant step towards greater internationalization.
For the first time, students from partner universities outside the Upper Rhine region joined, including participants from Latvia, China, and Morocco.

Throughout the week, students received diverse inputs covering topics such as business models, market analysis, market entry strategies, pitching, financing, and testing. They then applied these insights in teams working on pre-selected business ideas. The atmosphere was dynamic and highly interactive, filled with questions and lively discussions.

The programme was hosted across three cities: Freiburg (first two days), Basel (next two days), and Strasbourg (final day).
Besides the academic sessions, participants enjoyed city tours in Freiburg, a memorable dinner in the dark in Basel, and social drinks in Strasbourg.

On the last day, students presented their business models to a jury and received constructive feedback.

Two standout teams were awarded: Best Project went to TT-Stats, a platform designed to help sports associations manage tournaments and players more efficiently, while Best Team was awarded to Al-G, an innovative algae farming initiative that utilises space between wind turbines to cultivate algae for diverse customers.

The KTUR Summer School 2025 was a vibrant and enriching experience, fostering entrepreneurship and cross-cultural collaboration across borders.