IWT Wirtschaft und Technik GmbH

An institute for continuing education, knowledge sharing, and technology transfer, the IWT is a non-profit subsidiary of the Verein der Förderer und Alumni (the Association of Sponsors and Alumni) at DHBW Ravensburg e.V. and Forschungs- und Innovationszentren gGmbH, which belongs to Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW). The IWT is built on the following pillars:

1. Digitization in Production and Product Development

The digitization in production and product development department covers three areas of specialization:

1. Lernfabrik Fallenbrunnen – a learning factory in the IWT laboratory. Research and development are carried out in the learning factory. The services offered by Lernfabrik Fallenbrunnen include teaching, staff training, applied research, and specialist lectures. These are aimed at schools, universities, companies, and private individuals.
2. The management of innovation networks – the focus of these networks lies in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Together, work is carried out on generating synergies, always matched to the individual requirements of the companies. The aim is to develop products or services together, with each company contributing its expertise and thus benefiting from the other. In addition to the two existing research networks – SmartShip and VOLKER – other networks are planned for the future.
3. Industry and research projects: Collaboration between companies, research institutions, and universities delivers decisive benefits – accelerating and driving the development of new services, processes, and products in a more targeted manner. In addition to managing research networks, the digitalization department also conducts in-house R&D at its own production and technology center in Fallenbrunnen.

2. Digitization in Mobility

The digitization in mobility department deals with topics related to future travel solutions. In addition to collaborative research and development projects, this also includes participation in the Friedrichshafen test site. Mobility is a fundamental human need and thus of central importance to society and the economy. Ever since the first Zeppelin took to the skies over Friedrichshafen, companies all around Lake Constance have been closely involved in transportation topics. The transportation industry is as important to the Lake Constance region as it has ever been – far beyond the automotive sector. We are open to collaboration in this area with SMEs, manufacturers, and universities in all kinds of sectors of industry, in order to shape the digitization of mobility together. We focus on the areas of networked infrastructure (V2X) and automated and networked driving.

3. Staff development

Investing in employee training is key to a company’s competitiveness and safeguarding its future. Training courses and events include knowledge sharing with students, specialists, and managers. This area also includes customized training courses for companies and open seminars on current issues in business, technology, and management.

Steinbeis Transfer Magazine

• It’s all about the mix of technical, social and cognitive skills (Transfer 3/2024)
  An interview with Dr.-Ing. Markus Urner, Managing Director of IWT Wirtschaft und Technik GmbH
• People and Robots – A Strong Team (Transfer 2/2020)
  Steinbeis experts in Friedrichshafen use robots to provide assistance to people with disabilities
• It’s all about networks (Transfer 1/2020)
  Moving closer to autonomous driving in the Lake Constance region
• A Different Approach to Mobile Robotics (Transfer 4/2018)
  Team of students at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) in Ravensburg develops fully automated seating robot
• “My hope is to forge good contacts through the Steinbeis Network” (Transfer 1/2015)
  An interview with Professor Dr.-Ing. Heinz-Leo Dudek