International guests at the Centre for Production Technology Dortmund (ZfP): around 60 Master's students from the University of Manchester visited the ZfP on 2 April 2025. Among other things, the excursion focussed on the successful development of the PHOENIX West technology park.
NDT Director Dr Christoph Gehlen explained to the students the concept and approach of the TechnologieZentrumDortmund (TZDO) with its industry-related competence centres, which also include the NDT and the MST Factory Dortmund on PHOENIX West.
International Master's students from the University of Manchester visited the Centre for Production Technology Dortmund (ZfP) and the PHOENIX West Technology Park. Of course, this also included a group photo in front of the blast furnace of the former PHOENIX steelworks. Photo: TZDO / Roland Kentrup
PHOENIX West site successfully developed
"As part of our excursion, we are looking at various sites in the Ruhr region, including the PHOENIX West site in Dortmund. We are primarily investigating the question: How can large brownfield sites be successfully developed?" explains excursion leader Dr Andreas Schulze Baing, lecturer in urban development at the University of Manchester.
During their visit, the Master's students from the fields of urban planning, urban regeneration and property management were also interested in the success story of the TZDO, which has been a renowned address for technology-oriented companies, start-ups and business founders for 40 years and is one of the largest technology incubators in Europe.
Centre for production technology as a core of innovation
NDT Director Dr Christoph Gehlen presented the Centre for Production Technology Dortmund and the companies based there as a competence centre of the TZDO. The NDT has been one of the innovation centres of the PHOENIX West Technology Park since 2008 and has been actively driving the development of the site ever since. Currently, around 30 companies from different areas of production technology with a total of around 260 employees find optimal conditions at the NDT to successfully develop their products and services and organise their growth.
