New SME Digital Centre for Future Culture launched: Opening with "Corporate Culture Week"

A sustainable corporate culture is the basis for the digitalisation and sustainable development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is why the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, BMWK) is funding the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Zukunftskultur until February 2025 as part of the BMWK's Mittelstand-Digital initiative. The centre will be officially opened from 16 to 20 May 2022 with a "Week of Corporate Culture", during which various aspects of a sustainable corporate culture will be discussed. It will also show ways in which impulses from practice and research can be integrated into everyday business life.

Small and medium-sized companies are facing two major changes: Digitalisation and sustainability in business activities. But it often remains unclear: Where should a company start? How can it utilise its limited resources as efficiently as possible? And what are the small adjustments that can be made to develop a positive corporate culture for everyone involved? This is where the nationwide SME Digital Centre for Future Culture ("Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Zukunftskultur") comes in. The centre focuses on the people in the midst of change. Important elements here are trust and knowledge, innovation and curiosity, collaboration and communication.
"Small and medium-sized enterprises play a central role in shaping the digital and sustainable transformation. This is why the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Zukunftskultur supports decision-makers and managers in developing an innovative and sustainable corporate culture," explains Dr Anna Christmann, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Start-ups at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

To support SMEs, the centre will provide a wide range of events, case studies, specialist articles, guidelines and more. The aim is to facilitate knowledge transfer and dialogue between entrepreneurs. Thanks to funding from the BMWK, all services for companies are free of charge and provider-neutral.

The centre is a nationwide consortium with locations in Potsdam, Eberswalde, Dortmund and Dieburg. The consortium partners are the BSP Business & Law School, the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, the Research Institute for Telecommunications and Cooperation and Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. The partners represent different aspects of corporate culture.

In the week from 16 to 20 May 2022, the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Zukunftskultur will introduce itself with the "Week of Corporate Culture". In four online lunch talks from 12.00 to 13.30 each day, the centre will take a closer look at the four key topics of a sustainable corporate culture: Change, trust, communication and sustainability. Practical relevance is particularly important to the experts, which is why examples and the exchange of experiences with and between entrepreneurs are part of the interactive programme. The fifth day serves to deepen and bring together the various aspects of a sustainable corporate culture.

The lunch talk on Thursday, 19 May 2022, 12:00 - 13:30 on the topic of sustainability will be organised by HNEE experts. It will show new ways in which companies can embark on their individual sustainability journey. The destination: A tangible contribution and lived responsibility. Discuss together with experts from companies, associations and science.

Programme of the lunch talk

Presentation of the SME Digital Centre for Future Culture
Prof. Dr Thomas Thiessen (Business School Berlin) and Susann Feuerschütz (Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development)
Aspects of a sustainability culture
Prof. Dr Klaus Dreiner (Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development) Klaus Dreiner (Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development)
Sustainability in SMEs - A reality check
Interview with Marc Oelker (SIK Holz) and Konrad Henrici (recable, vireo)
Exchange with cooperation partners of the Mittelstand Digital Zentrum Zukunftskultur and company representatives
Dr Katharina Reuter (Bundesverband nachhaltige Wirtschaft), Diethard Bühler (Berlin Digital Group) as well as Marc Oelker (SIK Holz) and Konrad Henrici (recable, vireo)

Further information on the opening week and the individual lunch talks can be found on the website of the Centre for Future Culture