This Innovation Talk with the title “Best Practices University-Industry Partnerships” was held by Prof. Dr. Gerhard Plasonig (Honorarprofessor, Technische Universität München) and Dr. Andreas Mayer (CEO NanoCleanAir GmbH, Universität Karlsruhe). The panel discussion was extended by the thoughts and experience of Rudolf Zauner (Senior Innovation Manager, VERBUND AG), and the panel discussion was moderated by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Werner H. Hoffmann (Professor für Strategisches Management, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien & Partner Strategy and Transactions, Contrast EY-Parthenon, Österreich).

The keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Gerhard Plasonig, an expert in strategic technology management, focused on essential strategies for successful collaboration between academia and industry. Drawing from his experiences in founding a Swiss technology incubator and co-founding a pioneering technology platform, Prof. Plasonig highlighted critical elements of fostering innovation ecosystems. His speech aimed to provide actionable methods for creating mutually beneficial university-industry relationships, offering insights into concrete ways to enhance cooperation and drive innovation forward.

Following Prof. Plasonig, Dr. Andreas Mayer presented his extensive background in research and development. His contributions led to numerous research papers and publications. Building on this expertise, Dr. Mayer has applied and insightfully presented his knowledge to the filtration of ultrafine particles, particularly in maintaining clean indoor environments in schools and hospitals.

After the inspiring two talks and the subsequent interactive panel discussion, there was a lively get-together and general Q&A.