Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology in Berlin is selected as a “Place in the Land of Ideas”.
The Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology in Berlin was honoured as a “Place in the Land of Ideas” on Saturday, October 3. Sebastian Peichl, Director of the Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology, accepted the award on behalf of Professor Hans Georg Näder, chairman and CEO of Otto Bock HealthCare. The award was presented by Walter Flecken, CEO of the Deutsche Bank, Northern Region.
On German Reunification Day, around 7,000 people visited the Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology which was open until midnight for the event “Experience Medical Technology – an Evening in the Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology”. The interactive exhibits and multimedia installations under the motto “Discover, what moves us” were presented to visitors by the Science Guides and Otto Bock experts in group and individual tours. Interest was so great that the exhibition area had to be closed at times in order to avoid overcrowding. Two users who handle everyday challenges with an arm or leg prosthesis were available to answer questions from visitors and offer authentic insights into how modern devices enhance the mobility and quality of life for people with disabilities. One visitor who depends on a power wheelchair himself said the installations in the Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology are extremely realistic: “Here anyone can put themselves in the position of wheelchair users and other people with disabilities.”
Innovation, creativity, and visionary thinking: The initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” illustrates how much potential our country has. As Germany's largest series of events, the project is sponsored by the federal government and industry, represented by the Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI) (Federation of Germany Industries), as well as leading companies. Federal President Horst Köhler is the patron of the initiative. 365 places in the land of ideas are selected in a national competition. These places, companies, social projects, cultural and church organisations as well as research centres and other institutions present their ideas and innovations to the public for one day each. The company headquarters of Otto Bock HealthCare in Duderstadt, South Lower Saxony were already selected as a “Place in the Land of Ideas” back in July 2007.
Now, in the year of the 90th anniversary of Otto Bock HealthCare, the Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology – a unique showcase of technologies for people with disabilities – was selected as a “Place in the Land of Ideas”. The award was presented on a formative date for the history of the company and for German-German history – German Reunification Day. At crucial turning points, the development of the company Otto Bock – which was founded in Berlin in the year 1919 – to become a global market leader in the prosthetics field was closely linked to German history. In view of this background, the documentary “Die Wiedervereinigung im Eichsfeld 1989 und 1990” (Reunification in Eichsfeld 1989 and 1990) was also screened in the Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology on Saturday.
