First the art, then a top-notch dinner

The President’s Dinner is the university’s way of maintaining its network with commerce and reinforcing dialogue. The inspirational atmosphere at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany provided the creative backdrop.

Impressions of the reception

Before the dinner, around 50 guests and 30 professors were given an exclusive guided tour of the current exhibition ‘Katharina Sieverding - Art and Capital’. The exhibition shows works by the artist from 1967 to 2017. Sieverding has gone her own way in terms of art and has extended the artistic potential of photography in an innovative way. “It is a good choice of theme, as art, science and the economy also need to think up new ideas and have the courage to make changes,” explained Hartmut Ihne during his welcome speech.

At the subsequent dinner at the restaurant of the Bundeskunsthalle, a discussion topic was served up before each of the three courses based on the motto of “Inspiration and Innovation in Research and Development”. The aim was to work together to find concepts to inspire people to think outside the box, allow a little creative chaos while avoiding doing things for the sake of it and letting the imagination run wild.

It all began around six years ago with an extensive series of company visits which is still ongoing today. In this context, University President Ihne has coined the phrase “regional internationalism” to express the performance and innovativeness of small and medium-sized companies in the international market. It means being anchored at a regional level as a solid basis for global activities. The President’s Dinner is now the return visit from the companies, as it were, in order to identify shared challenges and opportunities for cooperation.

Everyone can benefit from exchange between the universities, the company managers and the cooperation partners: “This evening can provide motivation for talks and impetus for shared ideas and projects which would not otherwise have come about,” explains Dr Udo Scheuer, Head of the University's Centre for Knowledge and Technology Transfer. He accompanies the president on his visits to companies and is the point of contact for companies when it comes to Research & Development and recruitment.