KTUR²: Towards a global innovation ecosystem in the Upper Rhine region

The Knowledge Transfer Upper Rhine 2 (KTUR²) project offers companies privileged access to innovation and cutting-edge technologies by focusing on several strategic axes in the Upper Rhine.

A programme supported and co-financed by the European Union, KTUR² acts as a catalyst for innovation and collaboration between businesses and researchers on a cross-border scale.

It aims to meet the R&D needs of businesses by facilitating: access to innovations resulting from research work and to cutting-edge technologies available in cross-border research units.

KTUR² is also developing a range of continuing training courses to enhance skills, keep pace with socio-economic developments and enable your teams to remain at the cutting edge of your business sector.

In addition, the project promotes entrepreneurship and the creation of start-ups within the tri-national network, while simplifying access to innovation funding in the region.

Looking back on 2025—what a year!

In 2025, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗧𝗨𝗥² 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 continued to grow stronger, driven by shared ambition, trust, and cross-border collaboration. Together, we delivered impactful actions, projects, and partnerships that are shaping a truly 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 in the Upper Rhine.
Throughout the year, our partners deepened their cooperation around four strategic priorities:

Facilitating access to research-driven innovations and technologies
Developing a cross-border continuing education and lifelong learning offer
Supporting the emergence of startups and entrepreneurial projects
Strengthening regional innovation funding mechanisms

Looking ahead, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 for KTUR². The network remains fully committed to empowering researchers, students, and entrepreneurs, while fostering innovation through collective action and cross-border cooperation.

The University of Freiburg and the University of Strasbourg are leading the „Entrepreneurship Education and Networking“ work package. Exciting projects are planned in collaboration with the KTUR partners. Among other initiatives, a specialized venture capital workshop for graduate students is on the agenda. Additionally, a new podcast series featuring experienced founders from the Upper Rhine Region will be launched. The well-established trinational summer school is being expanded to include an international audience, and a startup job fair will be introduced to connect small businesses with job seekers and interns. We have plenty of ideas in the pipeline and look forward to seeing you there!

The KTUR² Consortium

The origins of the KTUR network

The ambition of the first KTUR project, launched in October 2019, was to make knowledge and technology transfer at regional and cross-border level more efficient, systematic and sustainable between public research and businesses.

To achieve this, a network of 12 member universities comprising the Eucor universities (the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Fribourg-en-Brisgau, Haute-Alsace, Basel and Strasbourg), the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau and the TriRhénaTech universities of applied sciences (Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Furtwangen, Lörrach, North-Western Switzerland) as well as technology transfer players such as Conectus, Grand E-nov+ (Regional Innovation Agency) and the CCI Alsace Eurométropole have joined forces.