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Heidelberg adopted an interactive approach from the start in developing its vision of the Digital City. It set out to involve as many stakeholders as possible in generating ideas. The forum offered an ideal framework: Over 400 interested parties accepted the city’s invitation to present and discuss ideas or gather information at information booths or by attending presentations. Visitors submitted around 150 ideas to the Digital Heidelberg concept.
Heidelberg entered the competition with an individual concept of its visions for the Digital City. The entry was prepared and developed in a rigorous and targeted process in collaboration with many partners at local and regional level, representatives of local business, municipal enterprises, associations, the university and academic institutions. Following submission, the entries were individually assessed by the members of the jury.
Along with Heidelberg, the cities of Darmstadt, Kaiserslautern, Paderborn and Wolfsburg also made it through to the final round. The five finalists were given an opportunity to fine-tune their concepts (time frame: April 1 to May 15).
At a series of talks organized jointly by the German-American Institute (DAI) and the City of Heidelberg, speakers from the fields of business and science examined the opportunities for digital urban development and smart networks. Topics ranged from mobility and geodata to the Internet of Things and Work 4.0. Videos of all the presentations can be found in the media center.
Heidelberg showcased its digital strengths on the Bitkom competition Facebook page for one week. The city presented insights into “digital Heidelberg” using videos, background information, portraits and infographics. 71 items illustrated how much Heidelberg had to offer as a digital city even then. The most popular video about the city of science was viewed over 300,000 times.
Inspired by many suggestions, including those from the Digital City Forum and a series of Digitality@Heidelberg events, Heidelberg polished its concept and submitted the final version of its entry.
Mayor Prof. Dr. Würzner and City Manager Nicole Huber presented Heidelberg’s visions of a Digital City in Berlin.
The city of Darmstadt was pronounced the winner at an event as part of the Digital Summit held in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. Since then, Heidelberg has continued its development as a Digital City, with a view to establishing its position as a digital pioneer.
