#mission
work
life
learn

Knowledge culture combined with connectivity changes the way we deal with information and the world in general. New forms of innovation and collaborative research are emerging. Knowledge is losing its elitist character. Global education levels are higher than ever. More complex, unpredictable requirements on the job market and new, collaborative forms of knowledge acquisition are causing the focus to shift to lifelong learning and soft skills.

Connectivity is one of the most powerful megatrends, since networking has initiated a social transformation. Digital communication technologies are changing our lives as well as our sociocultural codes, our lifestyle and our behaviour patterns. A new chapter is being written in the evolution of society. It requires network skills and a holistic, systemic understanding of digital change.

Cities are the states of tomorrow. Increasing numbers of people are living in cities. New forms of networking and mobility have above all made urbanity a new way of life, a new mindset. A change of perspective is required so that cities are envisioned as centres of innovation and places of opportunity for resource-efficient infrastructure and socioeconomic change.

We don’t live to work. But we also no longer work to live. People have time to think about the meaningfulness of work. Digitisation is completely transforming our working world. The creative economy is on the rise. This means there is a shift away from the rational performance society. The potential development of each individual is becoming a key priority. It is about achieving a successful symbiosis between life and work.

The fact of being born and raised as a man or woman now has less influence than ever before over the course of an individual’s biography. Changing role patterns and gender stereotypes are causing radical change in the economy and society as a whole. The strong “I” creates an increasingly new culture of pluralism.

Health has become synonymous with “a good life”. As a central goal in life, it is deeply inscribed in people’s consciousness, culture and self-image. When they have independently acquired knowledge, people have different expectations not only of companies but also of infrastructures such as the health system. Health-promoting living environments are demanded as a new normal state and measure of satisfaction.

The advent of the “Silver Society” is causing wide-reaching effects. The global population in industrialised countries is becoming significantly older – and at the same time staying healthy longer. The phase of life after retirement has thus grown longer and offers space for self-development. The mindset: “Growing older more vitally than ever.” This is not about delusions of youth, but a reinterpretation of age and ageing.

Both the need for mobility and the variety of forms of mobility continue to increase. What shapes this: individualisation, connectivity, urbanisation and neo-ecology. Technical innovations are taking place at a much faster pace and people’s changing needs are driving new forms of transportation that is networked, digital, post-fossil and shared. We are at the beginning of a new multi-mobile age.

Our society is in a perceived constant state of alarm. One crisis follows another. Our perception plunges us into a false sense of insecurity. We currently live in the safest of times, nevertheless we strive for security more than ever. Because connectivity, the “always on” network and globally available information nourish a feeling of insecurity fuelled by there being more “to protect”.