In 2008, the "state offensive to develop scientific and economic excellence" (Loewe) started. So far, the state of Hesse has made a total of 729 million euros available to universities, research institutions and companies for joint projects as part of this research funding programme. "The innovative power of these associations not only offers great opportunities for the competitiveness of the scientific institutions, but also for the development of the economy and thus for securing and creating jobs," said Prime Minister Volker Bouffier at a celebration of the tenth anniversary in Frankfurt.

The TH Mittelhessen has particularly benefited from the Loewe funding line 3, in which universities of applied sciences conduct research in cooperation with small and medium-sized companies. The THM has been involved in a total of 56 such projects to date. The main focus areas were automotive, biotechnology, energy, IT, environmental technology, medical physics and e-health. The THM is also involved in various major projects, such as the Loewe Center for Insect Biotechnology.

In total, THM has so far received grants totaling 22.5 million euros from the Loewe programme. “Funding line 3 gives us the opportunity to conduct practical research in collaboration with companies in the region,” says THM President Prof. Dr. Matthias Willems. “Many of these companies do not have the financial resources to invest significantly in research and development. The state funding offers them the opportunity to develop competitive new products together with THM . I would therefore very much welcome it if significantly more funds were available for this cooperation model in the future,” said Willems.