Considering the declining population in eastern Germany, we have to face the question of how to reverse the downwards spiral of emigration, brain drain and cutbacks in employment. German and European experiences indicate that universities can act as promoters for regional development to counteract the current trend.
For this, it is important to keep the people and their university knowledge within the region and secure the knowledge transfer into the region to strengthen its economic basis. In doing so, the interacting fields of economic and family policy are equally significant: Starting a family can act as a binding factor to the region and increase the willingness to engage in economic and founding activity.
The project aims to examine the multifaceted potential effects of universities regarding the promotion of families, immigration, economic development of the region and social networking, as well as to develop recommendations for the improvement of these effects. Accordingly, the state of research will be systematically advanced and consolidated. The study is complemented by an analysis of locally specific experiences in the model locations Magdeburg and Greifswald, while the European perspective is provided by comparisons with Irish and Finnish universities. Based on the results, two pilot schemes will serve to implement the first individual measures in the university regions Magdeburg and Greifswald.
