We’re big fans of the expansion of TechShop, a ‘gym membership’ scheme for workshops and equipment, which has now announced its expansion out of the USA and over to Germany.
In Detroit we saw how TechShop had partnered with Ford to give workers the ability to work on its own projects, and even develop after-hours solutions for its cars as part of the worker patent award scheme, and now BMW is getting in on the action.
The automobile manufacturer is supporting the expansion of the Entrepreneurship Centre at Technical University Munich (UnternehmerTUM) at the research campus in Garching, just outside of Munich.
In addition to the training and consulting services already on offer, the centre will provide 1,800 square metres of high-tech workshop infrastructure, comprising machines, tools and software for prototype construction and small-series production. The facility in Munich-Garching will be the first workshop operated by TechShop in Germany.
The new high-tech workshop will be open to the public, targeting, in particular, creative types, business founders, start-ups and employees of the BMW Group and other companies.
The Entrepreneurship Centre’s unique offering is geared towards both the national and international innovation and entrepreneurial scene, and aims to provide significant impetus for Bavaria’s economy and innovative power.
It’s hoped this will further reinforce Munich’s position as a high-tech location and strengthen the local network of city, universities, start-ups, companies and local creative scene.
The cooperation with the BMW Group is designed to provide business founders with access to first-rate know-how. In return, the BMW Group expects the project to bring it closer to ground-breaking innovations, with the workshop available to employees for prototype construction similar to the Ford initiative in Detroit.
