The Foreign Desk Powering Purpose in Munich
Feb 20, 2026
Prof Wolfgang Herrmann, former TUM president championing interdisciplinarity and entrepreneurship. Markus Blume, Bavarian minister driving high‑tech investment and university commercialization. Maxine Garvey, Hitachi Energy leader focused on cross‑border clean energy partnerships and diversity. They discuss collaboration for complex energy projects, building high‑tech ecosystems, fostering serendipity and scaling research into marketable tech.
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Complex Problems Need Diverse Networks
- Hitachi Energy solves complex transition problems by promoting collaboration and diversity of thought across internal and external networks.
- Maxine Garvey says diverse backgrounds yield different solutions that speed and strengthen the energy transition.
Building A Multicultural Team Puzzle
- Bianca Rech describes assembling a 25-player squad with 12 nationalities and turning cultural strengths into on-pitch roles.
- She maps national characteristics to team attributes and says all players share the single language of wanting to perform.
Design Spaces For Chance Encounters
- Markus Blume advises creating ecosystems that mix top universities, industry leaders, startups and research institutions to spark innovation.
- He recommends designing spaces for accidental encounters because serendipity often starts in informal meeting places like cafeterias.