4th network meeting of the innovation labs in Hanover
At this year’s network meeting of the innovation labs of the federal and state police forces, the focus was on innovation and the exchange of ideas on forward-looking projects. The event was hosted by the Lower Saxony Innovation Hub of the Lower Saxony Central Police Directorate. With workshops, poster sessions and best-practice presentations, the event offered a platform for the further development of innovative approaches. International contributions from Austria, the Netherlands and Luxembourg underlined the European spirit of the event.
On December 3 and 4, 2024, the network meeting of the innovation labs of the federal and state police forces took place for the fourth time. This year, participants from the federal and state police forces met at the Innovation Hub Niedersachsen in Hanover. The event was hosted by the Central Police Directorate of Lower Saxony. The Chief Constable of the Central Police Directorate of Lower Saxony, Roger Fladung, welcomed the guests and emphasized the networking concept within police work, which has taken on a transnational form despite federal structures: “These network meetings have created a platform that promotes the exchange between science, practice and international cooperation. “Innovation thrives on exchange and on understanding and working on future-related questions and problems as a process, without existing routines and thought patterns stifling innovation right from the start. For me, the success factor lies not in the product, but in the impulses that make innovation possible in the first place.” Police Commissioner Roger Fladung was certain.
“Collaboration is crucial to driving innovation forward. Meetings like this offer an important opportunity to be more successful together,” Oskar Neda, Head of Innovation Hub Lower Saxony, added. “The work we do in our organizations is real pioneering work. It requires perseverance, because innovation is not a sprint, but a marathon – often even with numerous hurdles.”
Michael Domberg, Head of Department of the Scientific Service of the Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit GmbH (Cyberagentur), emphasized the importance of the network meeting in his speech at the beginning of the event: “Innovation arises from the cooperation of people with different perspectives – be it between technology and administration, science and practice or across borders. The practical experience of the police forces is an indispensable compass for our innovation work. They show us what works, what challenges exist and where new approaches need to be developed. These insights are crucial in order to create long-term and application-specific solutions.”
This year’s meeting also had a European focus: in addition to representatives from the federal and state police forces, delegations from Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Luxembourg also took part. This international exchange underlined the European spirit of the event. The challenges of the future in security research can only be overcome through cross-border cooperation.
The two-day event offered a varied program with poster sessions, workshops and best-practice presentations. The presentation of the Lower Saxony Police’s True Crime Hackathon was particularly highlighted, impressively demonstrating how innovations in police work can be developed in a creative and practical way.
This 4th edition of the Innovation Labs Network Meeting 2024 emphasizes the role of the innovation labs of the federal and state police forces and the Cyberagentur as drivers of innovation and networkers of science, practice and international cooperation not only in police work, but also in strengthening internal and external security as a whole.
This year’s meeting was organized by the Innovation Hub Niedersachen and the Cyberagentur. The agency from Halle (Saale) was the organizer of the 3rd network meeting last year and has been working closely with the organizers of the network meetings for a long time.