ZU honored as “Trendsetter of the German Economy”

ZU has been named a “Trendsetter of the German Economy” by the F.A.Z.-Institut für Management-, Markt- und Medieninformationen GmbH. The award is based on a study published by the F.A.Z.-Institut and conducted by the IMWF Institute for Management & Economy Research. The award honors companies and brands that are particularly good at picking up on current megatrends and aligning themselves with them.

A total of around 20,000 companies and brands were examined for the study, 1,200 of which received awards. “It is not just companies that need to recognize trends at an early stage and make strategic decisions against the backdrop of profound economic, cultural and political changes – our university needs to do this too,” explained ZU President Professor Klaus Mühlhahn. “We are delighted to receive this award, because being a 'trendsetter in German business' means we are addressing the relevant topics and issues of our time in our teaching and research and are therefore on the right track.”

“Megatrends are particularly profound and sustainable trends that affect societal and technological changes. They are long-term developments that are defining all areas of society and the economy,” according to the definition on trendreport.de, the web site of the editorial office and newspaper for modern business. Based on this, Zukunftsinstitut GmbH has defined twelve key megatrends that have a particular impact on the lifestyles and consumer behavior of people around the world and therefore also affect the business areas of companies. These are globalization, individualization, connectivity, neo-ecology, health, knowledge culture, urbanization, gender shift, security, mobility, new work and the silver economy.

The study “Trendsetters in the German Economy” has now analyzed which companies and brands are particularly well aligned with the twelve megatrends. For this purpose, all texts containing the relevant search terms were downloaded from the Internet in a multi-stage digital process and recorded in a database. Mentions were then scored and point values determined. In the sector “Private Universities”, ZU has now been awarded the title “Trendsetter of the German Economy” along with seven other private universities and colleges.