Strengthening education and research lays crucial foundations for the competitiveness and future prosperity of our society. Since 2005, the German government has therefore been investing heavily in these areas. In 2013, Germany spent over 80 billion euros on research and development, more than any other country in Europe. As a DIW study has shown, stronger growth in overall economic research spending already leads to an increase in GDP in the short term. In Germany, this effect is even stronger than average.

We will therefore further intensify our efforts and upgrade them both financially and structurally. With its new high-tech strategy, the German government has aligned its innovation policy along six future tasks to the implementation of societal needs and new value creation potentials. The topics: Digital Economy and Society, Sustainable Business and Energy, Innovative Workplace, Healthy Living, Intelligent Mobility, and Civil Security. One example of how all relevant players are moving forward together is Industry 4.0. The new way of producing is a central challenge for Germany and at the same time holds a high economic potential.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports the successful implementation of Industry 4.0 through targeted offers of research and innovation funding. A key success factor: IT security. It is one of the priority topics of our new framework program for IT security research. However, the shift to a networked economy is also accompanied by significant changes in work processes and work content. With the new research program Innovations for tomorrow's production, services and work, we are supporting companies and research institutions in their search for answers to the questions associated with Industry 4.0.