Diverse topics
With a focus on exchange and innovation.
We connect people who really want to make a difference—on a wide variety of topics. Between Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley, a lively exchange has developed between visionaries, creatives, and experts from the fields of culture, science, innovation, education, and sports.
Innovation
We connect creative minds, start-ups, companies and research institutions from Schleswig-Holstein and Silicon Valley to jointly develop new ideas and implement forward-looking projects.
Through their shared interest in innovation, our members are sources of ideas, thought leaders, and drivers for projects such as the CAPTN initiative for autonomous ferry transport, AI Exchange for transatlantic cooperation in medical research, and Clean Energy Valley as a European region of the future for sustainable, climate-neutral industry.
Education
Education for young people is a key issue at The Bay Areas. We promote transatlantic exchange between San Francisco, Kiel, and Schleswig-Holstein, bringing together people from schools, universities, and academia. Through joint projects, lectures, and innovative formats such as the Bay Areas Lecture, we create new impetus for teaching, research, and lifelong learning. Our network opens up a wide range of opportunities for cooperation, knowledge transfer, and international perspectives—for a strong educational landscape in both regions.235.
Culture
The "Überflieger" is a state-wide start-up competition organized jointly by the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Economic Affairs and the three associations Marketingclub SH, StartUp SH and TheBayAreas. The aim is to offer start-ups a stage and open up new networks with important contacts both in Schleswig-Holstein and in San Francisco. The three winners of the competition will fly to the start-up mecca of Silicon Valley for a week and benefit from the local mindset, big-picture thinking and our local network.
Sport
In this joint format of Waterkant and The Bay Areas, we turn the tables: companies pitch their business challenge in front of an audience of selected start-ups and people interested in founding a company and benefit from their innovative knowledge. The aim: match-making and joint solution development for the companies as well as networking between start-ups and SMEs.
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