In terms of structural change, Kiel is pursuing a programme of becoming involved with future technologies such as medical technology, biotechnology, environmental technology or state-of-the art print technology, and is actively promoting the close networking of business and academia. About 27,000 students are studying at the three institutions of higher education in Kiel. New business centres and a science park are transforming academic knowledge into innovative products, and in this way are creating secure jobs.
The Leibniz Institute for Oceanography, the Faculty of Medicine and the Kiel Institute for World Economics are setting standards for science and research at international level. More than half of all EDP and multimedia companies in Schleswig-Holstein work in the Kiel region – the ideal environment for Kiel's institutions of higher education, which train highly-specialised experts for this sector of industry.
Innovative products from Kiel include large bore engines, drive shafts, fuel cells, marine pharmaceutical components, high-tech yachts and double-hulled tankers, tsunami early-warning systems, nautical and optical equipment and lasers. In Kiel, famous Nobel Prize winners such as Max Planck and Otto Meyerhof lived, carried out their research, and taught.
In the 19th century, the Navy was followed by the dockyards. Both of these factors soon caused Kiel to grow into a major city. Today, shipbuilding has developed from mass production into state-of-the-art technology.
