The finance chief of the city of Berlin said the German capital has turned the corner economically, and is poised to cut debt and unemployment over the next decade amid a new era of sustained economic growth.
The city of Berlin, seeking to position itself as a growing digital hub in Europe, plans to boost funding for the teaching of digital sciences at the city's three universities and applied sciences institutes, the city's finance chief said.
Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen, the city's finance senator, said Berlin is looking ahead to a decade of expanding investment in its public services, including its higher education system, one of the largest concentrations of academia in Germany.
"We are facing a decade of investment," Mr. Kollatz-Ahnen said in a video interview with Handelsblatt Global in Berlin. "I think the preparation (is being made) to go ahead with schools, public transport and the educational system to be the hub of digitalization in the heart of the Continent. To make these investments happen, and to make the implementation of these investments, is a crucial challenge for the city. If we don't manage it, growth will come to an end."
"We are preparing a lot of initiatives," he added. "In a few weeks, we will prepare for the public that we are increasing the capacity of the universities in the teaching of digital sciences. That will be quite a huge step forward."
"We are preparing a lot of initiatives. In a few weeks, we will prepare for the public that we are increasing the capacity of the universities in the teaching of digital sciences. That will be quite a huge step forward."
"Our job creation is exceeding our population growth," he said. "This has something to do with the fact that Berlin has invested a lot in education. We have three big universities, applied sciences colleges and vocational training. So the seeds are there."
The city is on track to integrate the roughly 50,000 refugees it took in last year as part of Germany's decision to admit 1.1 million migrants from Syria, Iraq and other war-torn areas of Asia and Africa, Mr. Kollatz-Ahnen said. Some are beginning to return home but many will stay, perhaps permanently, he said.
"Of those 50,000, we are seeing some of them going home," he said. "But many are from places where there is war and they will stay with us for a while. We have emphasized the language training and also opened the universities to them… and vocational training. I think integration will come with language, it will come with schooling, and it will come with jobs."