Political and international perspective on 4.0

Question 1

Political support for Industry 4.0

Answer 1

1. Encouragement of talent (esp. STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
2. Funding of public research (university / non-university, e.g. Fraunhofer)
3. Funding of public-private consortial research (Structural focus: knowledge transfer, SME, clusters; topics: digitalization, sustainability / energy, future of work, health, mobility, security)
4. Provision of venture and growth capital (Start-up financing, debt (e.g. for digitalization), mezzanine (e.g. for product innovation), e.g., via KfW, a federal promotional bank)
5. Facilitation of networking and standardization (e.g., introduction of “Industry 4.0” as joint initiative of academia, industry, and politics; Platform Industry 4.0)
6. Consulting (for SME, e.g., R&D financing support, SME 4.0 Competence Centers / “Mittelstand 4.0”)