Go-Ahead For Bavarian International Campus Aerospace And Security
Go-Ahead For Bavarian International Campus Aerospace And Security
Go-Ahead For Bavarian International Campus Aerospace And Security
Go-Ahead For Bavarian International Campus Aerospace And Security

Mar 30,2012 – Ottobrunn, Germany (Techreleased) -The official signing of the Memorandom of Understanding today, in the presence of Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer on the EADS premises in Ottobrunn, signalled the go-ahead for the Bavarian International Campus Aerospace & Security (BICAS).

BICAS will develop into an international innovation hub for science and business over the coming years. The aim is to enable researchers and companies from around the world to work together at the high-technology site situated in Ottobrunn. Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer said: “BICAS is a perfect example of our initiative ‘Aufbruch Bayern’ (Bavaria on the Move). We are investing in and networking fundamental research for aerospace and security, five new courses of study, a postgraduate school for doctoral candidates and a start-up centre. This is Bavarian innovative power. It shows that Bavaria has the strength to combine financial stability with expertise for the future. Science and business will benefit from this at the Ottobrunn site and throughout Bavaria!”

“Ever since it was founded, EADS has had strong roots in Bavaria, with its more than 15,000 employees at seven locations – including in Ottobrunn,” said Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus. “With today’s signing on BICAS, EADS is underlining its long-term interest in Ottobrunn, a high-technology site with one of the richest traditions in Germany.”

The partners in the BICAS consortium are EADS and IABG along with the Technical University of Munich, the Bundeswehr University Munich, the Munich University of Applied Sciences and Bauhaus Luftfahrt, with the Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt DLR (German Aerospace Centre) as an additional partner.

Representing science in the BICAS consortium, Professor Merith Niehuss, President of the Bundeswehr University Munich, said: “In a series of quality processes over many years, university and non-university research has created the conditions that repeatedly attract great brains, which then in turn introduce highly gifted young people to the world of research. This pool of outstanding scientists and academics is the intellectual foundation for the innovation processes that are to be put in place at the BICAS Campus.”

Focal areas for the planned research work at BICAS will be Green Aerospace (climateneutral or low-emission flying), Public Security, Integrated Systems and Autonomous Aerial Systems. The research activities will be supplemented by newly created master’s degree programmes, in English, for up to 200 students, and a postgraduate college for doctoral candidates.

Professor Rudolf F. Schwarz, Managing Director and Chairman of the Management Board of IABG, said: “To secure the competitiveness of IABG, cooperation with universities and major research establishments is a central element of our corporate strategy. BICAS offers the ideal platform for cooperation. This is why we welcome the commitment of the Bavarian state government, particularly here at our primary location in Ottobrunn. We are expecting this to safeguard the location for the long term and to boost its attractiveness.”

Now that the declaration of intent has been signed, the aim is to launch the first research projects before the end of the year. BICAS will make a crucial contribution to continuing the tradition of Ottobrunn as a centre for high technology – for future technological milestones “Made in Bavaria”.