Humanoid robots walk, dance, and create viral videos. In industry, however, their value isn't determined on stage, but rather in assembly, warehouse logistics, and manufacturing. The it's OWL strategy conference made it clear: for many companies in East Westphalia-Lippe, humanoid robotics is no longer a distant hype, but a topic the region's businesses are actively addressing. This is precisely where it's OWL is now focusing its efforts, planning a "joint vocational school for robots."

Does every company really need to acquire its own expensive and still immature humanoid robots to gain initial experience? From it's OWL's perspective, no. Dr. Arno Kühn, Head of Strategy at it's OWL, outlined a shared approach instead. Companies should jointly develop devices, knowledge, and, above all, use cases.

His analogy: a "joint vocational school for robots." This emerging trend presents several challenges that companies don't have to face alone. "The reality is: the devices are still somewhat shaky. That's precisely why it makes sense to pool resources, test such systems jointly, and develop cross-company use cases," says Dr. Arno Kühn, Head of Strategy at it's OWL.

Robots would be trained together for tasks that are similar across many companies, such as pre-assembly or warehouse logistics. This way, not only do the robots learn new skills, but the companies also learn from each other. Eight companies are already participating.

Between robotics and AI (from left): Dr. Arno Kühn (Head of Strategy it's OWL), Günter Korder (Managing Director it's OWL), Sabine Brockschnieder (Managing Director Bauformat Küchen), Dr. Stefan Breit (Managing Director Miele and Chairman of the it's OWL Cluster Board) and Dr. Jens Bunte (Management Böllhoff) look into the future of it's OWL.

Robotics as a future topic for OWL

“It makes absolutely no sense for us to acquire a humanoid robot on our own, one that doesn't yet run any software and therefore can't do much. It makes much more sense to work on it together in a consortium. This is interesting for us because it allows us to improve processes and because we need to further develop our products so that they can be processed automatically,” says Dr. Jens Bunte from the Böllhof management team.

Dr. Stefan Breit, CEO of Miele and Chairman of the Cluster Board, is also certain: “Robotics is a future-oriented topic for OWL. Against the backdrop of increasing automation and a shortage of skilled workers, this is a major growth market, especially for automation and mechanical engineering. However, many developments are taking place outside of Europe. This makes it all the more important to pool resources and work together at it's OWL.”

Industrial Renaissance: Futurist Jan Berger calls for new markets instead of old certainties.

Behind the robot debate lay a larger question: How do companies secure their ability to act in a world where old certainties are breaking down and new technologies such as AI and robotics are rapidly entering the market?

Dr. Jan Berger, founder and CEO of Themis Foresight, described this situation as the beginning of an “industrial renaissance”.

According to Berger, the years between 1995 and 2020 were characterized by cheap energy from Russia, cheap goods from China, cheap security from the USA, and cheap loans from central banks. These conditions no longer exist. He did not interpret this as a retreat, but rather as a mandate. For companies, it's about shaping future options and not just observing new markets, but actively participating in them.

Berger has a clear vision for the future of German and European companies: "We want to be the world's technological leader. We want to close material cycles, not factories. And we don't want to complain, we want to go all out."

Dr. Jan Berger, founder and CEO of Themis Foresight.

AI is changing the rules of the game: Why Agentic AI is becoming relevant for SMEs

To achieve this, many companies are already relying on artificial intelligence. Stefan Breit, CEO of Miele and Chairman of the Cluster Board, made it clear at the very beginning of the strategy conference how quickly the topic is developing within companies. A year ago, many companies were only just beginning to understand what is possible with generative AI. Now, the focus is already on agentic AI and the question of how this dynamic can be combined with products, processes, and the people in companies in East Westphalia-Lippe (OWL).

Breit linked this idea to a clear mandate for the region. AI must be used more extensively to optimize processes and develop new business models. He sees great potential, especially in engineering.

50,000 start-ups scouted and 150 collaborations implemented: Stratosfare as an it's OWL success story

Alongside its ongoing AI projects, it's OWL remains committed to its core focus on intelligent technical systems, but is shifting its emphasis towards collaborative testing, shared infrastructure, and faster deployment. One example of this is the work of the it's OWL initiative Stratosfare, where established companies benefit from startup technologies.

More than 50,000 startups have already been reviewed there, and over 150 collaborations have been implemented. Humanoid robotics has emerged as a new field from this shared services concept.



Skilled workers, transfers, speed: What SMEs really need now

The panel discussion ultimately showed that the companies see the situation more broadly than just through the lens of technology.

Sabine Brockschnieder, Managing Director of Bauformat Küchen, made it clear that new technologies alone are not enough. For her, innovative strength and competitiveness depend primarily on whether the region attracts and retains skilled workers.

Dr. Mareen Tack, Vice President at WAGO, described innovation as a collaborative effort. It arises where people are passionate about a topic and the right partners come together, both internally and externally.



Ingeborg Schramm-Wölk (President of Bielefeld University and Chairwoman of Campus OWL) emphasized that universities are far more than just places of education for companies. Universities are developing new competency profiles, restructuring their own organizations, and aim to work closely with industry as reliable partners in knowledge transfer.

Günter Korder summarized this in a clear statement: “Curiosity is a crucial prerequisite for innovation. We need to address new topics earlier, test technologies like humanoid robotics at an early stage, and at the same time become bolder when it comes to riskier projects. Especially with AI, we should proceed faster and sometimes more radically.”

All lectures available to watch again on demand.

The article "Vocational school for robots? How it's OWL combines humanoid robotics, AI and new markets" first appeared on it's OWL .