On 9 May 2017, the Joint Commission Mechanical Engineering (Gemeinsame Kommission Maschinenbau, GKM) at the University of Stuttgart received a special award in Berlin at the competition "Bestes Maschinenhaus 2017" by the German Engineering Federation (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, VDMA) for its teaching concept at the Campus Nordschwarzwald. Stuttgart is the only university to receive an award in the competition.
The innovative Campus Nordschwarzwald was able to convince the jury of the VDMA University Prize with its innovative concept of networking industry and science in the context of digitalization and Industry 4.0.
The Campus Nordschwarzwald was established in 2016 at the joint initiative of the GKM of the University of Stuttgart and companies working in the northern Black Forest. Its purpose is to meet future challenges in production by interlinking university and industrial research and offering a corresponding teaching program at the University of Stuttgart and the campus in Freudenstadt.
In Freudenstadt, production systems provided by industrial partners are linked at the campus technology center, but participating companies – among them Schmalz GmbH, Fischerwerke, Homag, and Arburg – are also contributing their research laboratories and workshops.
“Our goal is nationwide networking of industrial and university facilities through the supercomputing center in Stuttgart. Real data of companies are made available in a joint production network for use in current research projects,” Dean of Students Prof. Hansgeorg Binz explains about this new type of collaboration of industry and science.
The campus combines the existing range of university courses with the competence profile demanded by the industry. Students work on practical content, in particular in the context of Industry 4.0, in cooperation with the participating companies. “Aside from technical know-how, students in Freudenstadt also acquire management and leadership skills first hand – from the managers of participating companies,” says Dean of Students Binz.
The VDMA University Prize “Bestes Maschinenhaus 2017” recognizes teaching concepts for more student success. Concepts are selected by a jury of 21 experts from universities, industry, associations and initiatives, and politics. The 7,500 Euro prize was presented in the presence of Prof. Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister for Education and Research, and Theresia Bauer, Minister for Science, Research, and the Arts in Baden-Württemberg, by VDMA Vice President Hartmut Rauen and VDMA Vice Managing Director Norbert Basler.
Contact:
Prof. Hansgeorg Binz, Dean of Students Mechanical Engineering, Institute for Construction Technology and Technological Design, University of Stuttgart, Phone: 0711 685-66056, Email