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As part of the KTUR² project, Axis 1 “Access to innovation and technology for research units” brings together the academic strengths of the Upper Rhine to meet the needs of local businesses and create a common dynamic between France, Germany and Switzerland.

This ambition is structured around two working groups:

• The first facilitates companies' access to research infrastructures. It is based on the networking of researchers already cooperating with industry, the identification of equipment that can be mobilized and the development of a joint cooperation model, based on experience, existing contracts and real-life case studies.

• A second working group offers a trinational response to the R&D needs of economic players. Applicants can contact each of the partner institutions, which will then share their requests and pool their responses, providing easier access to cutting-edge skills and equipment spread across the three countries. Simplified procedures to speed up project implementation!

As Pauline Pupier, European Projects Manager at SATT Conectus, reminded us in her speech:

All of this is in line with a logic of agility, simplification and direct response to industrial needs. This commitment to co-construction will take concrete form this summer.

Pauline Pupier's speech concluded with an announcement: the first edition of the Lab Visit Series will take place on June 18, 2025 at ICAM Strasbourg. This immersive visit will enable companies to discover, on site, how research-industry collaborations take concrete shape: sharing experiences, presenting technologies, direct exchanges with researchers. A unique opportunity to get to the heart of trinational innovation.

May 20, 2025

The launch of the KTUR² project took place on May 20, 2025 at the 360 Grand-Est trade fair at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès in Strasbourg. The day kicked off with a consortium meeting bringing together 15 partners for a series of highlights focusing on cross-border innovation. This was followed by the Industrial Advisory Board, which discussed the project's strategic vision.

The morning ended with the KTUR project launch conference, during which eight speakers took turns to talk about the project. The conference was moderated by Michel DE MATHELIN, Senior Vice-President and Vice-President Strategy and Innovation at the University of Strasbourg. He introduced Alice FRETON, Startup Program Manager at the University of Basel, who came to share a concrete example of a successful collaboration in technology transfer.

KTUR and its workstreams were then presented.

The conference closed with a speech by Michiel SCHEFFER, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the European Innovation Council (EIC), who shared the project's strategic orientations. A total of 120 people attended the KTUR² project launch conference.

The launch day continued with the Associated Partners Forum, a networking cocktail organized around islands corresponding to the four strategic axes of KTUR².

The day ended with the Communication Circle, bringing together members of the communication working group. KIT, RPTU and HKA presented their communication orientations.