On Monday, 5 May 2025, Frank Dehnke, Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Oberhessen, was a guest on the campus of EBS Universität in Oestrich-Winkel. The reason for the meeting with the EBS Europainstitut was the official confirmation of the cooperation for the year 2025 - a partnership that combines practical research, student support and dialogue with SMEs in the region in a special way.

The cooperation centres on the institute's two key research areas: ‘competitiveness’ and ‘reducing bureaucratic costs’. The aim is to provide scientifically sound impetus for business practice and political decision-making processes - with concrete benefits for the region and Europe.

Plans for 2025 include the involvement of a member of the Sparkasse's Management Board in the ‘Expert Advocacy Platform for Smart Management of Bureaucracy Costs’. The platform brings together representatives from business, science and politics in several half-day workshops to develop practical solutions to reduce the burden on SMEs.

In addition, the partnership offers a variety of interfaces between Sparkasse Oberhessen and EBS: specialist lectures, discussion forums and joint theses strengthen the link between theory and practice. Sparkasse customers also benefit from exclusive lectures, for example from professors or doctoral students at the Europainstitut.

"With this partnership, we are creating real added value on several levels: Our students benefit from direct exchange with practitioners, companies gain access to the latest research - and the region as a whole is strengthened by the dialogue between science and business," says Prof. Dr Diane Robers, Professor of Management Practice. She has headed the EBS Europe Institute together with Günther H. Oettinger since October 2024.

The Europainstitut was officially opened on the EBS campus in November 2023. It is dedicated to topics such as sustainability, digital transformation, energy security and economic resilience in Europe - with the aim of empowering young talent for European challenges and promoting solution-oriented research.

Caption:
(from left to right) Dr Dorothée Hofer (Managing Director of EBS Universität), Frank Dehnke (Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Oberhessen) and Prof. Dr Diane Robers (Professor of Management Practice, Co-Director of the Europainstitut at EBS Universität)