People often ask me why we are still in Gelsenkirchen. When we would surely have better opportunities now with our locations in Shanghai and Munich than here. The latter could actually be true, but it's precisely this discrepancy that appeals to me: being a basement dweller and a diva in one organization adds a good spice. And so our headquarters in the Ruhr region continues to be the center of attraction for our customers, that's where the experience is and that's where we tackle the problems we face on a daily basis in the most profound way.

But what are the real advantages we have here?

It really is the problems. We have far more problems here in the Ruhr area than anywhere else, structural change problems, unemployment problems, immigration problems, social problems and so on. As a resident of Gelsenkirchen, I can "sing a song about it".

What kind of person needs problems?

I can only say: WE! Without problems we couldn't work, our profession wouldn't make sense.

Innovative products for tomorrow, networked implants, service robots, navigated surgical instruments and point-of-care diagnostic systems - as a medical designers we work on these and other ambitious projects every day. But all these great high-tech projects are based on real problems faced by real people. We must never forget this in our enthusiasm for technology.

What good is an innovation that doesn't solve a problem?

Nothing at all. Problems are the raw material from which innovations can emerge. You just have to stop complaining and recognize the possibilities.

That's why I value the Ruhr region, for me it's a kind of innovation laboratory with the immediate proximity and access to 5 million open and participatory people, with the densest university and research landscape in the whole of Europe, and with a lot of relevant and inspiring problems. The miner's mentality of the miners and steelworkers is still there and therefore problem solving is not a big issue here, but is practiced on a daily basis.

Attraction for creative people

There is now a worldwide competition for the creative class, these young, independent people who can create something new using their imagination, skills and motivation. Creative districts are also being built in the Ruhr area to create the right environmental factors, the right atmosphere. It's all very well wanting to establish a bit of Kreuzberg in this rough urban environment - but for me it's too short-sighted and not really original. We already have the material from which innovations can emerge right here, right under our noses.

The Ruhr region should see itself as the center of problem solving and position itself as such:

Problem solved - in the Ruhrpott.

As medical designers, we solve problems every day and modern design methods are increasingly taking our profession out of the ivory tower and onto the street. User Centered Design is the approach with which we investigate and research the problems of users and patients and we create solutions using other design thinking methods.

There are already hundreds of great projects here in the Ruhr area that are working in a participatory way on our living environments of tomorrow, e.g. the Ruhr Innovation Space, which aims to create a culture of innovation by bringing together the players in the healthcare sector, or the Quartiersnetz project, which is about self-determined living in old age - but there could be much more cooperation...

We are working on it. In the Ruhr region.