The University Alliance for SMEs (HAfM), a nationwide alliance of higher-education establishments, represents the interests of application-oriented universities in their role as SME partners to politics and society. Universities of applied sciences and medium-sized companies are ideal partners: together they train young people, thus supporting the region; in addition, they collaborate in the areas of research and development in order to devise solutions. The universities also support SMEs as partners in structurally weak regions in order to prevent a ‘brain drain’ of young talents. In their capacity as regional development centres, they have a linking function and provide effective protection from structural upheaval caused by demographic changes. Above and beyond this, they make a decisive contribution to integrating migrants and their children into the world of academia.