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July 2020: Economic stimulus package, ethics seal, R&D activities, and much more.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Even though the federal government, together with the states, is approving more and more easing of restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, the pandemic still has a firm grip on economic life. Policymakers have now put together an economic stimulus package aimed at overcoming—or at least mitigating—the crisis. Read this issue of the newsletter to find out how SPECTARIS assesses these measures. We also introduce the new SPECTARIS seal “Together for Ethics in Care,” examine the impact of COVID-19 on the industry’s R&D activities, and showcase a variety of digital formats in foreign trade.

I hope you enjoy reading this!

Jörg Mayer, Managing Director of SPECTARIS

TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE

A “bang” with room for improvement
The German EUROM Optical Industries Presidencypresidency (eurom 1) is coming to an end after three successful years
The photonics industry is positioning itself as a partner for the Horizon Europe research framework program
SPECTARIS Celebrates 60 Years of Lasers!
New Seal: Working Together for Ethics in Nursing
SPECTARIS Calls for Contributions to the IVDR Wiki
SPECTARIS Position Paper: Impact for German Companies Resulting from Participation in the U.S. Procurement System
SPECTARIS Foreign Trade Focuses on Digital Formats
Applications for funding for new individual and collaborative projects are once again being accepted
Impact of COVID-19 on Industry R&D Activities
The application period for DIN-Connect 2021 has begun
Webinar Series on Climate Neutrality
Post your ad on our website

FOCUS

A “Boost” with Room for Improvement
The German government’s economic stimulus package, released in early June, received high praise from SPECTARIS. Nevertheless, there are areas where the association hopes to see specific improvements. “Above all, we welcome the planned measures designed to continue helping small and medium-sized enterprises overcome their economic challenges,” emphasizes SPECTARIS Managing Director Jörg Mayer. According to Mayer, these include liquidity assistance for small and medium-sized companies as well as tax relief. “It is especially important right now to steer Germany as a business location out of the crisis with appropriate measures. However, to ensure this doesn’t remain merely a ‘2.0’ emergency aid package, the long-term competitiveness of high-tech SMEs must also be strengthened. Some measures are already contributing to this.” SPECTARIS welcomes the expansion of the research tax credit by one billion euros. Doubling the tax base to four million euros primarily helps larger companies, as it allows them to claim higher research expenditures. However, since small companies often have only modest research budgets, an additional increase in the 25% research tax credit—to, for example, 40%—would be significantly more SME-friendly. “We would also like to see a powerful, comprehensive, and forward-looking foreign trade strategy that is based primarily on qualitative instruments and takes into account aspects such as free trade, as well as the strengthening and integration of export promotion tools,” explains Mayer, referring to the current SPECTARIS proposal catalog titled “Strengthening Key Industries After COVID-19.” Key points of the association’s paper include strengthening free trade, greater economic policy coordination within the EU, and intensified support for innovation and startup creation. More

The German presidency of EUROM Optical Industries (eurom 1) comes to an end after three successful years

This year’s General Assembly of EUROM Optical Industries (www.eurom1.org), the European umbrella organization for the optical industry, held on June 18, also had to take place as a web conference. As scheduled, the three-year German presidency, led by Oliver Fischbach (HOYA), came to an end. He handed the reins over to the Italian partner association ANFAO, led by Renato Sopracolle, but will remain with EUROM Optical Industries as Vice President. Oliver Fischbach’s presidency was marked by numerous regulatory issues, with the Medical Device Regulation (MDR) at the center. Several key decisions also had to be made in Brussels regarding the implementation of UDI (Unique Device Identification). Other key topics included trade shows, market figures, and the equally active Technical Committee. SPECTARIS expert Carsten Leutloff continues to chair the Regulatory Committee of EUROM Optical Industries, while SPECTARIS trade association director Peter Frankenstein was appointed treasurer.

The photonics industry is positioning itself as a partner for the Horizon Europe research framework program

Thanks to the dedicated work of the European Technology Platform Photonics21, the industry has succeeded in making the shortlist for European Partnerships under the new Horizon Europe research framework program. The final decision will be made by the European Commission in the coming weeks. The official candidate profile for photonics highlights that photonics is a key building block for the digital transformation and for a green and healthy future for Europe, and thus ideally supports the major challenges of our time. European Partnerships will be a key focus of Horizon Europe’s funding allocations. As a partner, Photonics21 will contribute to achieving the European Union’s research policy goals through a series of industry-specific funding projects. If you’d like to get involved in the work of Photonics21, why not become a free individual member? As a member of Photonics21, you can, among other things, contribute your ideas to the photonics working groups and participate in the elections for the Board of Stakeholders, thereby actively helping to shape the direction of European photonics research. More images : Photonics21/Iris Haidau

SPECTARIS Celebrates 60 Years of Lasers!

On July 7, 1960, a scientist considered an outsider announced an invention called Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation—the laser. Theodore H. Maiman, a researcher employed by aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, unveiled the laser at a press conference in New York on that day—an innovation that, more than almost any other, has revolutionized countless aspects of life to this day. SPECTARIS is celebrating this anniversary with a new website. At www.laser-im-leben.de, the association has created an interactive tour through the areas of everyday life, transportation, and healthcare, showcasing where laser technologies reliably perform their functions and thereby improve our lives. Of course, a brief look back at history is a must for such an anniversary. In addition, SPECTARIS has produced a comprehensive press kit titled “Fully Integrated into Life—60 Years of Laser Technology.” The booklet not only highlights the three areas of life mentioned above but also sheds light on the different types of lasers and showcases current research topics.

New Seal: Working Together for Ethics in Nursing

The SPECTARIS Expert Group on Nursing and Hospital Beds presents a voluntary commitment to take ethical considerations into account in the development of nursing beds. The new declaration is based on the existing Care Charter, which sets forth the rights of people in need of assistance and care in eight articles. The Charter outlines quality standards, goals, and rights for those in need of care, the fulfillment of which is essential to ensuring high-quality care and support. “We want to demonstrate how manufacturers of nursing beds can incorporate the ethical guidelines from the Nursing Charter into the functionalities of a nursing bed for the benefit of those in need of care, as well as nursing staff and family caregivers,” explains Ralf Wiedemann, a member of the Medical Technology Executive Board at SPECTARIS and chair of the expert group. Beyond taking care-related aspects into account, the signatory manufacturers also commit, for example, to environmental protection in their production processes. The initiative is accompanied by a new seal, “Together for Ethics in Care,” which certifies that manufacturers comply with the guidelines set forth in the voluntary commitment. The initiative is also supported by the German Nursing Association (DPV). Rolf Höfert, Executive Director of the DPV, says: “We gratefully welcome this commitment and look forward to its patient-centered implementation in manufacturing, for the benefit of all involved.”More

SPECTARIS Calls for Contributions to the IVDR Wiki

During a virtual meeting of the In Vitro Diagnostics Working Group, SPECTARIS presented the IVDR-Wiki project. The project’s objective is to systematically compile the information needed for the successful implementation of the new EU Regulation 2017/746/EU (IVDR) and make it available to the IVD Working Group for shared use. The relevant key topics, work packages, and documentation will be presented in the form of an IVDR Wiki. The platform will also be of interest to companies that are monitoring this topic and wish to gain an overview of the implementation steps. Given the scope of the task, the project can only succeed if as many people as possible participate, even with small work packages. SPECTARIS hereby invites the members of the In Vitro Diagnostics Working Group to contribute to the development of the IVDR Wiki! The successful implementation of the IVDR Wiki depends on the commitment of the entire IVD Working Group. If successful, the IVDR Wiki topic overview, along with the corresponding documents, will be made available online to all SPECTARIS members. For more information on how to contribute, please contact Krasimira Maryanska.

SPECTARIS Position Paper: Implications for German Companies Participating in the U.S. Procurement System

For about two years, the U.S. administration under President Trump has been taking a variety of measures to prevent the supply of components and products subject to the U.S. Export Administration Regulations to Chinese companies listed on the U.S. Entity List. This also affects the operations of German companies in their dealings with Chinese companies such as Huawei. Although it has gone largely unnoticed so far, a provisional rule was issued on August 13, 2019, by the U.S. Department of Defense and the General Services Administration that will also have significant implications for German companies participating in U.S. government procurement. This provision stipulates that, as of August 13, 2020, U.S. government agencies may not enter into or renew contracts with companies that use technology or services provided by the Chinese companies Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, and Dahua Technology Company, as well as their subsidiaries or affiliates. SPECTARIS is already in contact with the relevant departments in the federal ministries regarding this issue and its implications and has published a position paper , which you can find here.

SPECTARIS Foreign Trade Focuses on Digital Formats

Last year, SPECTARIS’s Foreign Trade Department expanded its range of digital events. It offered a wide variety of webinars on topics such as market development and market access in various countries, as well as on foreign trade law. The following (free) webinars are currently being planned, and you can still register for them:

““COVID-19: A Trigger for MedTech & LabTech Market Development in East Africa” on July 2, July 2020 in cooperation with our SPECTARIS partner, the East African Health Platform, and the consulting firm africon GmbH
“Market Entry into Japan for European Medical Device Companies” on August 11, August 2020 in cooperation with the consulting firm Parkdale Group

In addition, event collaborations with various partners were expanded and supplemented with live streams on YouTube and digital training courses. For the first time, SPECTARIS is now also a partner of the Export Manager (IHK) certification course—an online course for executives—with a focus on the optics, photonics, analytical, and medical technology sectors, which will be organized in July by SPECTARIS partner IHK-Exportakademie GmbH. SPECTARIS member companies receive a 10% discount on the seminar fee. Starting in September, SPECTARIS GmbH’s popular “Kennisraum” seminars will resume, naturally in compliance with all infection control guidelines and measures as well as general hygiene protocols. You can register for these events now.

Applications for funding for new individual and collaborative projects are once again being accepted

The time has come: The new application forms, in accordance with the guidelines of the Central Innovation Program for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (ZIM) that took effect on March 18, 2020, are now available online. New individual and collaborative projects, as well as innovation networks, can now apply for funding through the relevant project management agencies. The new guidelines have optimized many aspects of the German federal government’s largest program for supporting innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. AiF Projekt GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association of Industrial Research Organizations (AiF), manages the most sought-after funding pillar of the ZIM: R&D collaboration projects. To date, as part of its role as a ZIM project management agency, the AiF subsidiary has supported over 32,500 research and development projects by small and medium-sized enterprises and the research institutions collaborating with them, with a total committed funding volume of more than 4.6 billion euros. For 2020, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) is allocating budget funds totaling 555 million euros for ZIM. The program’s three funding pillars are managed by different project management agencies. In addition to AiF Projekt GmbH, which is responsible for R&D cooperation projects, EURONORM GmbH is responsible for individual R&D projects, while VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH serves as the point of contact for funding innovation networks. More

Impact of COVID-19 on Industry R&D Activities

With the lockdown, companies in most industries drastically reduced their R&D activities. This is one of the key findings of the survey conducted by the BDI with the aim of making targeted recommendations for national and European reopening policies. How has the COVID-19 crisis affected the planned R&D investments of research-intensive companies? What measures do companies recommend to overcome the crisis? These questions were the focus of the survey, which was widely distributed through the networks of the Association of Industrial Research Organizations (AiF) (including the F.O.M. network) and the Fraunhofer Society; the results of the analysis have now been published. With 248 responses, the data is not representative, but it does provide a good snapshot of the current situation. Fifty-three percent of survey participants represent small and medium-sized enterprises. The survey results show that the COVID-19 crisis is hitting the research-intensive industry hard: Only a few sectors are benefiting from the increased demand for research, such as biotech, pharmaceuticals, and certain subsectors of mechanical engineering. 38% of all companies have already reduced their R&D activities, with some sectors cutting back drastically: for example, 78% of companies in the automotive industry have completely halted their R&D activities. Before the COVID-19 crisis, 54% of companies planned to increase their R&D spending in 2020, while 13% intended to cut it back. In light of the COVID-19 crisis, only 24% now plan to increase their R&D spending in 2020, and 39% plan to cut it back. More

The application period for DIN-Connect 2021 has begun

The DIN Standards Committee for Emergency Medical Services and Hospitals (NARK) has launched an ideas competition for DIN-Connect 2021. The DIN-Connect funding program is primarily aimed at startups and SMEs to help innovations gain quick and easy access to the market. Project ideas can be submitted through the following link until September 30: www.din.de/go/din-connect. Important for applicants: The idea must be innovative and have potential for standardization. Projects will run for a maximum of twelve months. The winning projects will each receive up to EUR 10,000 in external funding and are scheduled to begin in March 2021.

Webinar Series on Climate Neutrality

The SPECTARIS partner association "vbw - The Bavarian Economy" is presenting a three-part webinar series titled "2050 Climate Goal: Climate Neutrality—Identifying and Overcoming Operational Challenges." The series is particularly well-suited for specialists and executives from all areas of business who deal with climate and energy issues, and it begins on July 7. For more information, visit www.vbw-bayern.de. To register, please email tobias.thomas@~@vbw-bayern.de

Place your ad on our website

Establish a presence in our growth industries and benefit from reaching your target audience with an ad on our website. Our website is the go-to source for information about innovation-driven small and medium-sized businesses in the consumer optics, medical technology, photonics, and laboratory industries. You can find advertising listings and prices on our sponsorship page.

November 25, 2020 | Berlin | Wissensraum

Content Marketing: Copy for High-Tech Products

The workshop is aimed at professionals from small and medium-sized companies who either write marketing and PR copy themselves or commission it. The focus is on making efficient use of limited resources. How can we create copy that is precisely tailored to the target audience, and how can we ensure that it reaches that audience effectively? How can we minimize wasted reach as early as the concept phase? The examples will be drawn from the fields of medical technology and photonics. Hands-on exercises and direct discussion of participants’ experiences are an integral part of the workshop. More

Privacy at SPECTARIS: We Keep You Informed

The protection of your personal data is important to us. You can find out how we handle your personal data in accordance with the GDPR of May 25, 2018,here: .

What Our Members Say

As a medium-sized medical technology company, Richard Wolf benefits greatly from SPECTARIS’s extensive network. We particularly value their technical expertise.

Mr. Pfab, Mr. Steinbeck, Management of Richard Wolf GmbH

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