The level of scientific knowledge available at the IPK has prompted several biotechnology companies to establish themselves on the campus. One example is the biotechnology company SunGene GmbH which was established in October 1998 as a joint enterprise between BASF AG and IPK. The company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF. Other initiatives of IPK scientists are the companies TraitGenetics GmbH (2000) and IT-Breeding (2009). Whilst SunGene operates its own building, the other companies have established themselves at a biotechnology centre for newly established companies next to IPK campus on the initiative of the Aschersleben-Staßfurt rural district in the year 2000, now Salzlandkreis. In May of 2000 the InnoPlanta Nordharz Börde e.V. began its operations in Gatersleben. This has created excellent conditions for developing the Gatersleben campus into a centre of green biotechnology, whose business interests range from basic research and technology development through to scientific services and the development of saleable products.
The claim of the site to be recognised as a European centre of green biotechnology was further strengthened by the construction of a biopark in 2004, thanks to an initiative of the Saxony-Anhalt state government. In September of 2006 the greenhouse complex of the biopark was opened. This facility is operated by the company Greenhouse Service GmbH for its users, i.e. companies on the site. At the end of 2006, a branch of the Saaten Union-Resistenzlabor began working in the newly completed biopark laboratories. On November 1, 2006, the “Green Laboratory”, a training centre for pupils and teachers, was opened in the biotechnology incubator. The local initiative Green Gate Gatersleben initiated in 2005 will be promoting the site to the business community and to society at large.
The Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, with its low buildings and cultivated grounds, is nestled in the fertile and loess hill landscape of the northeastern Harz district. Because of its rather low rainfall and favourable temperatures, the area has long been a centre for plant breeding. Together with the companies and the service industry at the site, the facilities of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry in Halle, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI) in Quedlinburg and Anhalt University in Köthen/Bernburg, the IPK represents an important focal point of plant research in the centre of Germany.
Since its beginnings, the Gatersleben institute has been a source of mental stimulation and cultural activities beyond its immediate scientific mandate. Concerts, art exhibitions, writer’s readings, lectures and film showings organised by the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Kultur in Gatersleben e.V. have been held here since 1991. The Gatersleben Encounters between natural scientists, artists, social scientists and politicians were held annually from 1986 to 2003, and explored the uncertain consequences of modern science for society, with lively discussions focusing on the ethical dimensions of IPK's activities. The Gatersleben Discourse was organised in conjunction with the Evangelical Academy of Saxony-Anhalt on August 10-11, 2006.
The Gemeinschaft zur Förderung der Kulturpflanzenforschung Gatersleben e.V. was founded in 1993. The society's goal is to promote and fund crop plant research and to particularly encourage the development of the genebank and field research into the taxonomy and evolution, genetics, molecular biology, cell biology and physiology of crop plants. To promote young scientists in the field of crop plant research, and especially in the field of genetic resources, every two years the society awards the Rudolf Mansfeld Award for the best diploma work in this field. In addition, the "Society for the Adv. of Cultivated Research" together with the institute awards the Gatersleben Research Award for the best dissertation containing new knowledge regarding the structure, function and evolution of genetic material, the conservation, research and development of the genetic variation of crop plants, their ancestors and relatives, with contributions to breeding genetics as the theoretical foundation of practical plant breeding every two years, too.
More information on the assignments and goals of the promotional association is available through Priv.-Doz. Dr. A. Börner.
