Merck Wins 2015 German Industry Innovation Award

25-Mar-2015 - Germany

Merck announced that it received the German Industry Innovation Award last night in the "companies with innovative HR concepts" category. The award under the auspices of Johanna Wanka, German Federal Minister of Education and Research, was presented at a ceremony in Frankfurt to Belén Garijo, Member of the Executive Board of Merck and CEO Healthcare.

"Innovation has been the foundation of Merck throughout its nearly 350-year history," said Garijo. "In order to remain successful, we have to continuously adapt to changing markets and a changing environment. The award-winning initiatives show that Merck's innovation concept relates not only to new products, but also to a working environment that offers scope for creativity and innovation."

With the two projects singled out for the award, namely the Merck Serono Innovation Cup and innospire, Merck is not just proving its slogan "Living Innovation". The initiatives, which are aimed at both internal and external audiences, are also contributing to the successful execution of the second phase of the "Fit for 2018" transformation and growth program, which centers on the topic of innovation. With the launch of the program in 2012, Merck is laying the foundations for the profitable future growth of the company with a view to the company's 350th anniversary in 2018.

The jury explained its decision on whom to grant the award to as follows: "We are especially honoring the fact that the award application demonstrates how innovation is lived as a bottom-up initiative and is designed from the pre-company to the post-company phase." The finalists in the "companies with innovative HR concepts" category were - besides Merck - Bayer, Deutsche Bahn and Hofgut Himmelreich.

"From the beginning, it was important to us to link the topic of embracing innovation with the recruitment and development of talented scientists. After all, behind every successful innovation there is a clever mind that has been given the freedom to unfold its ideas," said Ulrich Betz, who leads both projects at Merck. "We are extremely pleased that our concept has also been recognized externally."

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/152170/merck-wins-2015-german-industry-innovation-award.html