Lateral Thinkers and Border Crossers Required
Interview: Andreas Sentker

DIE ZEIT: Innovation means change and departure. Are you worried that the innovation climate in Germany will deteriorate as a global economic crisis threatens?

JOACHIM MILBERG: The most recent figures we have on the subject of research and development spending in Germany are good. Businesses have invested more money in research and development and are creating jobs there. But we must ensure that this trend doesn't change now. Particularly in times of crisis we have to support the next generation. Once the economic situation has calmed down, we have to take off again. And future growth can only arise from research and development. There could also be a positive aspect to the financial crisis: young people with an appreciation for numbers and technology who were previously drawn towards the world of banking might become more interested in "real innovations" again.

DIE ZEIT: To the public, the news from the large companies indicates something else. There's talk of stopped production lines and reduced hours. The tabloids are asking the question that's on their readers' minds: How secure is my job? That companies are constantly doing research and looking for staff in this field is barely visible.

MILBERG: That is partly a mentality problem that affects society as a whole. Do we really all sufficiently understand just how much our prosperity depends on this field, on investments in the future, on research and development spending, but also on investments in education?

DIE ZEIT: What do you think?

MILBERG: I fear the answer must be no.

DIE ZEIT: Why do these opportunities, these jobs go so widely unnoticed by the public?

MILBERG: People know that many billions of euros are put into research and development in Germany. But hardly anyone has an idea of the associated opportunities that motivates them personally. We are seeing the consequences in the next generation of engineers. We are training fewer people than we need to maintain current levels. If we want to grow, we will be facing an enormous challenge, not least due to the demographic trend.

DIE ZEIT: Is there a solution in sight?

MILBERG: This is a systemic problem that we have to address on many levels. For example, we have learnt from a survey that the course for later career choices is set very early, often at ten or twelve years of age. So if we want to get people excited about science and technology, we will have to start placing far more emphasis on these things in kindergarten and primary school. We also have too few women in technical degree courses and professions. This is due among other things to the fact that female school leavers lack role models who can get them excited about these career paths.

DIE ZEIT: Is the importance of the subject of innovation in Germany also understood by those making policy decisions?

MILBERG: That Federal Minister of Education Anette Schavan is announcing increased funding for education at this particular time is a very good sign. But - and this is a central part of our knowledge from six years of acatech - we all have to do more in this area, from businesses through politics to changing societal awareness.

DIE ZEIT: Since the beginning of this year, acatech has been the German Academy of Science and Engineering - a national academy. What do you hope to achieve under this heading

MILBERG: Our aim is very clearly to strengthen the chain of education, innovation, employment, prosperity.