Distinguished Visitors from Canada at TUHH

Science Meets Politics: Prof. Irina Smirnova, Vice President for Research at TUHH, welcomed a high-ranking delegation from Canada to the campus. The guests included David West, Mayor of Richmond Hill, Anthony Ierullo, Director of Economic Development and the Richmond Hill Centre, and Brenda Osler, Senior Economic Development Officer.

For the city of Richmond Hill (population: approximately 220,000), located near Toronto, the topic of GreenTech is becoming increasingly important. Consequently, the visit focused on discussions regarding innovation, sustainable development, and international cooperation. The guests discussed current challenges and potential solutions with Prof. Nima Shokri, Co-Director of the UNU Hub “Engineering to Face Climate Change” at the TUHH and Head of the Institute for Geo-Hydroinformatics.

The visit to the CampusLab Circular Economy provided a very vivid illustration. Here, CEO Dr. Joana Gil presented the company Lignopure, which emerged from the TUHH. The successful company uses specialized processes to convert industrial waste products into high-quality, sustainable materials.

“A place full of innovation”

Entrepreneurial spirit was also the theme at the TUHH Startup Port with Executive Director Dr. Christian Salzmann. Here, the delegation from Canada engaged directly with several teams of young founders and gained insights into a variety of forward-looking business ideas.

Mayor David West, himself once a small business owner in Canada, was impressed and gained many exciting insights: “It really is an amazing place, full of innovation, full of inspiration, and full of creativity and collaboration—everything we need right now in this changing economy.”

Which structures can be adopted? How can academia and industry collaborate most effectively? These were also the focus of the subsequent meeting at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. The hosts were Philip Koch, Managing Director and Head of the International Division; Axel Hoops, Head of the Start-up, Funding, and Financial Markets Department within the Innovation and New Markets Division; and Lilian Krause, Specialist for the Americas and Oceania in the International Markets and Foreign Trade Promotion Division. Together with the delegation, opportunities for cooperation with Hamburg-based companies and startups were discussed. At the same time, the potential for companies to establish operations in Canada, an important trading partner, was explored.

The visit to Hamburg represents a high-level collaboration linking the TUHH, the United Nations innovation ecosystem, and Canada’s municipal leadership. The visit was coordinated through the UNU Hub, established at the TUHH in 2024, which serves as a platform to connect academic research with the United Nations as well as global policy and innovation networks.