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The logo of the Social Research Centre Dortmund
Department of Social Sciences
Studierende sitzt am Arbeitsplatz und schaut auf den Laptop. © Aliona Kardash​/​TU Dortmund

Ch@nge Ruhr project kick-off generates strong response

The State Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia Karl-Josef Laumann during a speech. © G.I.B. ​/​ Dietrich Hackenberg
Karl-Josef Laumann (State Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia)
With the Future HUB for SMEs, the Change Ruhr team wants to advance the work-oriented design of the digital transformation in the Ruhr region. The photo shows eight people from the team at a video conference. © IAT
With the Future HUB for SMEs, the Change Ruhr team wants to advance the work-oriented design of the digital transformation in the Ruhr region.
Supporting the digital transformation in small and medium-sized enterprises with concrete offers and shaping it in a work-oriented manner for the benefit of employees is the declared goal of the project "Ch@nge Ruhr", in which the IAT Gelsenkirchen, the IAQ in Duisburg and the Ruhr University Bochum are also participating in addition to the sfs. At the virtual project launch, 55 participants from academia and practice, trade unions and interest groups met to discuss perspectives, obstacles and support needs - especially in the current situation. In his welcoming address, NRW Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Karl-Josef Laumann emphasized the social partnership approach of the project.

In a video message, the NRW Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Karl-Josef Laumann emphasized the special importance of the project for the Ruhr region and the "joint social partnership task" of shaping the digital transformation together with employees at the workplace. To this end, Ch@nge Ruhr wants to set up a future HUB as a virtual orientation and hub for SMEs in order to provide needs-oriented support for operational digitization processes and provide inspiration for work-oriented design.

According to Stefan Kulozik from the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, this is also about dealing with possible skepticism and uncertainties of the companies. For this reason, "it is also important to look at where companies are already succeeding in successfully shaping digitization!" says Michaela Evans, coordinator of the project at the Institute for Work and Technology in Gelsenkirchen (IAT | Institut Arbeit und Technik der Westfälischen Hochschule Gelsenkirchen Bocholt Recklinghausen).

Inspirational offers and learning journeys

The Future HUB is intended to provide SMEs in the region with bundled information and access to existing consulting, funding and support structures in the Ruhr region and to open up offers of inspiration about successful company examples (good practice). Ultimately, the aim is to initiate the possibility of inter-company exchange and knowledge transfer through learning trips as well as work labs in the RUB's Learning and Research Factory, among other places.

Denise Becka (IAT) and Marvin Schäfer (Ruhr University Bochum) presented the goals and offerings of Ch@nge Ruhr at the kick-off event: The focus is on the modules Pr@xis Projects, Ch@nge Consulting, Ch@nge Knowledge and Ch@nge Success. In a dialog round with representatives from companies, interest groups and consulting institutions, experiences with company digitization projects from the industrial, logistics and healthcare sectors were presented. Participation orientation and inter-company exchange of experience were discussed as important instruments of successful digital transformation, but by no means realized in all cases.

Project of the Ruhr Conference

Ch@nge Ruhr is a project of the Ruhr Conference and is carried out by the Institute for Work and Technology (IAT) of the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences (coordinating partner), the Institute for Work and Qualification (IAQ) of the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Social Research Center Dortmund (sfs) of the Technical University Dortmund as well as the Centre of Cooperation of the Ruhr University Bochum / IG Metall and the Chair for Production Systems (LPS) ("Lehrstuhl für Produktionssysteme") of the Ruhr University Bochum. Ch@nge Ruhr is sponsored by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MAGS). The kick-off event marks the start of the two-year Ch@nge Ruhr project, following the activation phase, in the development and implementation of the concrete offers of the future HUB.

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