Whether it’s the economy, science or society itself: the secret to the success of Baden-Württemberg lies with its people. More than 11 million creative thinkers and curious minds are working hard here every day to invest in our future and they have the visionary ideas that more than demonstrate our passion for innovation. 13,600 of these ideas were registered for patent approval in 2021. An impressive figure, which has seen THE LÄND take the lead as both the most inventive state in Germany and as Europe’s most innovative location. 149 companies, global leaders in their field, have largely contributed to this success, as have the various districts in THE LÄND which are among the strongest regions economically in Europe.

Innovative spirit permeates both the urban and rural landscape, from one corner of THE LÄND to the next. Several regions already enjoy global recognition thanks to the innovative thinking of former trailblazers. Take Stuttgart, for example, our state capital in which the first car was registered for a patent by Carl Benz back in 1886. An innovative idea that is still being reinvented today – and only one of the many ideas to come from THE LÄND that have changed the world. Many of our inventions also make us the leading export state in the respective categories. Not only is this something of which we are very proud – but it has spurred us on to further invest in research and development opportunities. We are not only leading the way here in Europe – but even find ourselves, in relative terms, well ahead of China, Japan and the US.

THE LÄND is a region leading the way for digital change in the fields of Industry 4.0, Mobility and Artificial Intelligence (AI). In our Cyber Valley, Europe’s only research centre for AI and intelligent systems, we work closely together with company groups and universities from the region. This makes the journey from idea to implementation fairly short and straightforward. A public advisory committee involved in selecting the research projects and evaluating them in terms of ethical and societal implications guarantees even greater transparency and relevance. In this way, Cyber Valley is playing its part in cementing the status of Baden-Württemberg as a home of innovation for some time to come.

Digitalisation not only affects our private lives. It also has a major impact on our professional ones as employers, inventors and business founders. In order to simplify the process for everyone, we have created digitalisation centres, or digital hubs. The digital hubs provide a place of experimentation where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, have the opportunity to seek advice, perform hands-on experimentation and work on new projects together with other companies and start-ups. Furthermore, initiatives such as the regional AI labs and AI innovation competition specifically drive the development, application and marketing of artificial intelligence

Plenty has changed since the founding of Baden-Württemberg, except for one thing: our thirst for innovation. Ever present, we have a whole library of success stories to share: involving the fuel cell, the wind turbine and even the teddy bear. Achievements that we not only continue to explore, but on which we build further. And the Global Innovation Index is just one indicator of how well we are doing here. THE LÄND has significantly outperformed the other 89 European regions to secure the top spot. And what about our economic success? This is largely reflected in our high density of world-renowned companies, our strong small and medium-sized businesses and our innovative start-ups.

With over a million employees, THE LÄND is already an important location for the healthcare sector, as well as the leading location for medical technology, biotechnology and pharmacy in Germany – as shown by the number of companies and employee figures. This is an area we extensively promote in order to ensure this remains the case in the future. For example, with the Forum Gesundheitsstandort Baden-Württemberg (Forum for Healthcare Location Baden-Württemberg), which started in 2018. This forum provides a multidisciplinary platform for over 500 regional experts, with the aim of developing new ideas together, as well as further promoting both technological and medical innovation.