From the coal district to a technology hub
On Monday (28.09.), the Centre for Production Technology Dortmund (ZfP) a high-ranking delegation from Indian Ministry of Coal Welcomed. No coincidence: Hardly any region knows the structural change away from coal as well as the Ruhr Area, and hardly any example illustrates it as vividly as the PHOENIX West Technology Park, on whose site once stood one of the largest steel mills in Europe.
The delegation was led by Dr. Gopal Singh (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Coal) with and Satish Kumar, India's top coal regulator (Coal Controller). Representatives from: Coal India Ltd., the Jharkhand Exploration and Mining Corporation, the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, and the Think tanks NITI Aayog – accompanied by a four-person team of German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) under the direction of Abhinav Jain as well as by Sabrina Heix and Kerstin Schwirkus from the City of Dortmund. The group was received by Dr Christoph Gehlen, which we have in our TechnologieZentrumDortmund Both Non-destructive testing as well as the MST Factory Dortmund leads.
He organized and conducted the visit. Dennis Pulimittathu from the Research Center for Post-Industrial Architecture of TH Georg Agricola in Bochum. The example of PHOENIX West and PHOENIX See clearly shows how a former industrial site is being transformed into new spaces for technology, research, business, and living. And what role institutions like the TZDO, that Non-destructive testing and the MST Factory Dortmund to play a role in structural change.
For the delegation from Jharkhand and Dhanbad, the experiences with land development, the interplay between public and private actors, economic development, and technology transfer were particularly interesting. In light of the impending transformation of Indian coal regions, the exchange was instructive for both parties.
We are staying in contact and want to explore together what other opportunities for knowledge transfer and collaboration can arise. Thank you for the open and very interesting exchange!
