Our Location

The Ostwestfalen-Lippe region is one of the strongest economic locations in Europe with its primary sectors of mechanical and plant engineering, the electrical and electronics industry as well as the automotive supply industry. In 2016, companies in these industries generated sales of 17 billion euros (+20% compared to 2010) and provided approximately 75,000 jobs.

Within North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the region leads the field in terms of industrial value creation and has an exceptionally high future potential. Besides Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria, NRW is one of the three most important state clusters in manufacturing engineering. Furthermore, NRW ranked 3rd in the economic potential category and 1st overall among the 25 European Regions of the Future in the recently published study “European Cities and Regions of the Future 2016/17.”

Exploitation of this potential is rooted in the strong links between traditional production and information and communications technologies. The region holds an excellent position in this particular field as well. Accounting for almost 4.5% of jobs in the city, Paderborn ranks 11th among the top 25 locations of the software and IT service industry. This is also reflected in the strategic orientation of Paderborn University, which is at the vanguard of the cross-sectoral fields of computer science and engineering. The Heinz Nixdorf Institute is a prime example for this kind of interaction.

The Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum (HNF) is the world’s biggest computer museum and a lively venue for events. The 5000-year history, present and future of information technology is illustrated on 6000 m² of floor space, from the origins of numbers and characters in 3000 B.C. all the way to the computer age of the 21st century. The 2000-plus objects on show are presented within the broad context of social and economic history, making the exhibition appealing to laymen and computer experts alike. A lively program of events at the Forum complements the exhibition perfectly. Talks, workshops and conferences address the far-reaching influence exerted by information technologies on both humankind and society at large. HNF is therefore dedicated to issues of guiding and educating humanity in the modern information society.