Dieter Schwarz Foundation

The Dieter Schwarz Stiftung is a non-profit limited liability company (gemeinnützige GmbH) that is financed, through Schwarz Beteiligungs GmbH, from distributions of the two companies Lidl Stiftung and Kaufland Stiftung (both part of the Schwarz Group). The registered office of the companies of the Schwarz Group is in Neckarsulm. The main focus of the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung's activities is in neighboring Heilbronn. The management of the gGmbH consists of the former President of the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Reinhold R. Geilsdörfer (chairman), Gunther Friedl and Bärbel G. Renner.^[1] Chairman of the shareholders’ meeting is the former Rector of the University of Mannheim and former Minister of Science of Baden-Württemberg Peter Frankenberg.^[2]

In November 1999, Dieter Schwarz founded the foundation named after him, among other things to promote education, science, research and entrepreneurship.^[3]

On 1 July 2002, the “Akademie für Information und Management Heilbronn-Franken” (aim) was established from the IHK continuing education center under managing director Harald Augenstein, based in Ferdinand-Braun-Straße in Heilbronn. Its goals were to improve young people's ability to train and study and to facilitate and support parents re-entering the workforce after a family phase. From the outset, aim has been supported by the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung, so that these measures could be offered largely free of charge.^[4] In 2003, the foundation's assets were estimated at three million euros,^[5] and in 2005 donations of five million euros annually were reported.^[3] The purpose of the foundation is “to promote education and upbringing, in particular through training and continuing education programs for daycare centers and schools, the promotion of new teaching and learning methods, and by inspiring young people for technology and the natural sciences.”^[6] Furthermore, the organization supports “the promotion of science and research at universities, in particular through endowed professorships and the financing of a private university for business administration.”^[6]

Initially, nine endowed professorships were established in Heilbronn, Reutlingen, Mannheim, Bruchsal, Halle (Saale) and Leipzig in the fields of electronic commerce and e-government as well as business ethics.^[5] With a donation of 510,000 euros, the foundation contributed one third of the renovation costs of Heilbronn's landmark, the tower of the Kilianskirche.^[5]

In the state of Brandenburg, the foundation supported a project from April 2005 to March 2008 called ZACK (Zukunft-Ausbildung-Competenz-Karriere), in which several regional educational providers worked toward integrating young people into primarily company-based vocational training.^[7]

In October 2011, the Bildungscampus Heilbronn, financed by the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung, was opened. At that time, it housed the German Graduate School of Management and Law, a branch campus of the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Mosbach and the Akademie für Innovative Bildung und Management (aim).^[8] Less than a year after its opening, extensive expansion plans—largely financed by the foundation—were presented to accommodate the BWL-Food Management degree program, previously located in Bad Mergentheim, during 2013.^[9] Within ten years, the Bildungscampus has grown steadily and is now home to research institutions, universities and various opportunities for professional continuing education. The science center experimenta was expanded in 2019 with a new building funded by the foundation and, since 2024, has offered an AI pavilion inviting visitors to try out AI applications and learn about the opportunities and risks of the technology.^[10]

In October 2012, the course was set for the expansion of the Bildungscampus in two construction phases. On 1 July 2014, the Mosbach branch campus of DHBW became the independent DHBW Heilbronn location and the youngest member under the umbrella of the DHBW sites. In October 2014, the Center for Advanced Studies (CAS), an institution of DHBW bundling master's programs, was launched. On 30 September 2015, Bildungscampus II with two new buildings was inaugurated. On 25 October 2016, the third construction phase of the Bildungscampus was opened.

In June 2017, the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung announced the decision to establish a campus of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and its TUM School of Management in Heilbronn. The first two degree programs started a year later, in October 2018. Since early 2018, the Josef-Schwarz-Schule has been part of the foundation's funding portfolio. In April 2021, the Josef-Schwarz-Schule opened another location in Heilbronn. On 25 September 2018, the entrepreneurship and innovation center Campus Founders gGmbH was founded by the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung. Campus Founders gGmbH aims primarily to inspire students toward entrepreneurial thinking and to spark interest in founding their own businesses. In autumn 2019, a modern, practice-oriented and internationally focused institution began its training program on the Bildungscampus – the Erzieherakademie Heilbronn. With the establishment of the Fachschule für Sozialpädagogik, a new program for prospective early childhood educators was created. In October 2019, Bildungscampus Nord was officially inaugurated, housing two new buildings for Heilbronn University, a joint library for all universities and a new underground cafeteria.

Since July 2020, the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung has participated institutionally in the basic funding of the foundation “Haus der kleinen Forscher” (now the foundation “Kinder forschen”^[11]) and supports the strategic development of its programs. The programming school 42 opened its first German location in Heilbronn in June 2021 with support from the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung. In cooperation with the city of Heilbronn, the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung won the site competition for the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) in July 2021.^[12]

In July 2022, the foundation announced the expansion of the Bildungscampus in Heilbronn. Groundbreaking on the new site took place on 5 May 2025.^[13]

• Bildungscampus Heilbronn:
  • Akademie für Innovative Bildung und Management Heilbronn-Franken gemeinnützige GmbH (aim)
  • Heilbronn University Campus
  • Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Heilbronn
  • TUM (TU Munich) Campus Heilbronn (32 endowed professorships in Heilbronn, 9 in Munich)
  • Erzieherakademie
  • Programming school 42
  • Campus Founders
  • Ferdinand-Steinbeis-Institut FSTI
  • Fraunhofer IAO and Fraunhofer ISI
• Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI)^[14]
• Experimenta Heilbronn^[15]
• Professorships at ETH Zurich^[16]

• Dieter Schwarz Endowed Chair for General Business Administration, E-Business and E-Government – University of Mannheim
• Endowed Visiting Professorship Dieter Schwarz Foundation Visiting professor of International Retail Management – University of Mannheim
• Endowed Professorship for Distribution Logistics and Merchandise Management – Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Mosbach
• Endowed Professorship for Retail and Leadership – Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Mosbach
• Endowed Chair for Design Engineering – Heilbronn University
• Endowed Professorship for International Trade and E-Commerce – Reutlingen University
• Chair of Business Informatics of E-Business – Leipzig Graduate School of Management
• Chair of Business Ethics – Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
• International University in Germany, Bruchsal (university closed due to insolvency)
• German Graduate School of Management and Law

The foundation's engagement in higher education has also been viewed critically with regard to possible influence on higher education policy in the state of Baden-Württemberg.^[17] The planned establishment of a branch campus of the Bavarian TU Munich in Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, was also the subject of political discussions in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament.^[18]

The managing director Reinhold Geilsdörfer has also been controversial: while serving as acting president of DHBW, he was already active for the organization.^[19] In connection with the establishment of DHBW in Heilbronn, Geilsdörfer also had to face allegations of accepting advantages in favor of Dieter Schwarz Stiftung GmbH.^[20][21] These allegations were completely rejected by the Heilbronn public prosecutor's office after they had already been fully refuted by the Stuttgart public prosecutor's office. Geilsdörfer reserved the right to take legal action against the complainant.^[22]

The Bildungscampus is private property owned by the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung. Due to its largely public accessibility, the exercise of private property rights (house rules) is the subject of public discussion.^[23] The house rules prohibit, among other things, the consumption of alcohol as well as ball games and inline skating.^[24]

• Official website
• Article about the activities of the foundation on Bloomberg L.P., 23 October 2012 (English)