1. Basic information
Hanover is the capital of the German state of Lower Saxony and is a hub of converging land and water transport, both at the crossroads of Germany's main north-south and east-west railway lines and on the Central German Canal. Hannover covers an area of 203 km², has a population of 540,000 (2018) and a GDP of 46,409 million euros (2018). Hannover is a city with a highly developed industrial manufacturing sector and is the centre of Germany's automotive, machinery and electronics industries. In addition, Hannover is known worldwide for its exhibition industry, and is known as the "Exhibition Capital of the World" and the "Billboard" of German industry. Hannover is also strong in creative design, especially industrial design, and is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, which awards the world-famous iF Design Award every year. Hannover is also a leader in the field of health care.
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2.Overview of innovation development
(1) Innovative Development Subjects
A. Universities: Hannover has 2 of the country's leading universities in terms of innovation: the University of Hannover, founded in 1831 and now a member of the TU9 consortium of Germany's top 9 universities of technology; and the Hannover Medical School, founded in 1965 and a world-renowned medical school, which consistently ranks first in Germany in terms of annual research funding and is one of the most research-intensive of German universities. It is one of the most research-intensive universities in Germany and is ranked third in Germany for medical sciences.
B. Research institutions: the more well-known research institutions in Hannover are the German Institute for Advanced Industrial Technology (IAIT): a non-profit official institution with its headquarters in Hannover, focused on promoting scientific and technological exchanges and business collaboration between Germany and China in the field of advanced smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0, with more than 3,000 German partners and more than 10,000 indirect partners; and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied The second is the Fraunhofer Association for the Promotion of Applied Research: founded in 1949 and headquartered in Munich, with a branch in Hanover. It is the world's largest and highest-ranking applied research institute, the world's most successful non-profit research and development organisation for common technologies and one of the world's most efficient technology transfer organisations, providing a powerful innovation driver for German industry and a key player in the German innovation system. The International Institute of Neuroscience (INI) in Hannover: founded in 1990, it is renowned in the German medical community for its world-leading strength in the research and treatment of neurological diseases; fourthly, the Laser Centre Hannover: founded in 1986, it is one of the most important research institutes in Europe in the field of laser technology and process development, with strong processes for ultrafast laser processing and composite materials processing, and its development of underwater laser cutting technology is at the world's leading level.
C. Important companies: Hannover is home to headquartered companies such as Continental AG(one of the world's top four tyre manufacturers and one of the top five automotive component suppliers), Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and VARTA (Europe's most famous car battery brand).
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(2) Key innovation cooperation platforms
A. iF Industrie Forum Design (Hannover):Germany's oldest industrial design event is located in Hanover. The world-famous iF design awards are presented every year, with the most significant gold award being the "Oscars of product design".
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B. HANNOVER MESSE: The world's largest industrial fair. The German Industry 4.0 concept was officially launched at the Hannover Messe, first held in 1947 and known as "the world's leading trade fair for industry". The "flagship exhibition of the world's industrial trade", the "barometer of world industrial trade" and the "global trendsetter for industrial technology development". The latest Hannover Messe opened on 31 March 2019 at the Hannover Exhibition Centre in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löwen. A total of 6,551 exhibitors from 88 countries and regions took part in the fair. Among them, the number of Chinese exhibitors was as high as 1,400, with a booth area of 23,000 square metres, making it the second largest exhibiting country apart from Germany. Chinese enterprises, represented by Huawei, Aerospace Science and Industry, Haier and others, showcased industrial digitalisation, cloud computing, power transmission, pneumatic energy and other high technology and solutions to the world. There were 70 exhibitors from Shenzhen, with more than 100 booths and an exhibition area of over 1,000 square metres. Listed companies such as GrandTech Laser and Volcanic Materials, as well as high-tech and advanced manufacturing enterprises such as Yuejiang Robotics, Radiant Intelligence, Sinusoidal Electric and Weiyuan Precision were all present to showcase Shenzhen's "smart" manufacturing and Shenzhen quality.