Digital projects of the future, applications of digitalization, possibilities of a modern digital infrastructure and digital solutions during the crisis – those are the topics in focus of Hessian Minister for Digital Strategy and Innovation Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus’ summer tour. During the summer holidays, she visits companies and institutions all over Hesse with the motto “Benefits of Digitalization” – making a visit to Fabrik19 imperative.
CEO of Fabrik19, Mark Pralle, and Kristina Sinemus already discussed the topic of “Smart Regions” during the “International Green Week” in 2020 in Berlin. What stayed in mind from that event was a race between the two on the “Dorf-Autobahn”, a Carrera racetrack. During her visit in the company’s office in Gießen and before discussing the topic of smart municipalities and regions, Kristina Sinemus had the chance to challenge Mark Pralle again – this time on the racetrack in the office.
Mark Pralle provided an extensive overview of the company’s portfolio: the city apps of Gießen, Laubach and Lauterbach as well as a new app for the smart city Duisburg demonstrate just how smart cities can be and become. On the other hand, the app “digitales dorfleben”, which is a pilot project on behalf of the district Gießen, reveals the possibilities of digital solutions for villages in the countryside.
Furthermore, Kristina Sinemus was one of the first to inspect the Gießen stela, which will be welcoming visitors of the city hall in the foyer of the building soon. The stela will help visitors find the employees and departments responsible for their request, let them read messages, and direct them to the correct rooms.
Exchange with the team
Communicating and exchanging ideas with the team was particularly important to the minister. Thus, she actively sought out a conversation with employees, got to know about Scrum while talking to project management, and got a glimpse of topics like “location-based information systems for passengers in busses” or the “Digitale Mitfahrbank”, a portal concerned with finding and offering opportunities of carpooling.
“We are delighted about Prof. Dr. Sinemus’ visit in our office in the context of her summer tour. A good cooperation between municipalities and corporations is essential when developing smart regions. Hesse will only become smarter if we work together”, said Mark Pralle after a productive afternoon.
Unfortunately, Kristina Sinemus was not able to attend the team’s barbeque due to her tight schedule; however, the employees ended their day with good food and drinks on the new roof terrace.
