Last year, just one day before the German reunification holiday, selected guests met near the Technical University in Ilmenau for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the construction of the city’s second Steinbeis building. The new structure will provide more than 1,000 square meters of space for future transfer projects. But that wasn’t the only reason to celebrate: Several Steinbeis enterprises gathered in Ilmenau that same day to mark the anniversary of their founding.
The new Steinbeis House should be ready for its first occupants beginning late summer of this year. The building promises superb working conditions for the employees of the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Quality Assurance and Image Processing. The construction project lays the foundation for further Steinbeis growth in Ilmenau, where successful technology transfer has been taking place for 20 years: Both the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Quality Assurance and Image Processing as well as the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Mechatronics looked back on two successful decades of technology transfer work at the opening of construction in Ilmenau. The company innomas and the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Automotive Engineering are only half as old but no less successful. And Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Johann Löhn made sure to underscore the outstanding contributions of all the Ilmenau-based Steinbeis founders in his celebratory speech.
Professor Dr. rer. nat. habil. Peter Scharff, Vice Chancellor of the Technical University in Ilmenau, highlighted the fact that universities deal with the entire chain of information, from basic research to practical application. In his view, completing the chain of technology transfer – that is, transferring knowledge directly to businesses – requires partners like the Steinbeis Transfer Centers. “A truly successful professor sees to it that his research findings get implemented into real, marketable products,” said Scharff. Professor Dr. Gerhard Linß, Director of the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Quality Assurance and Image Processing, praised the excellent collaborative relationship shared with the university’s vice chancellor and attested to the success of the Steinbeis transfer concept. “The synergy effects that technology transfer creates between science and business will push the businesses in this region forward in the future,” said Linß.
For the second year in a row, the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Logistics and Factory Planning took part in the national “Logistics Day” with a series of expert presentations. Under the theme “Logistics makes it possible”, local businesses and an interested audience of trade visitors were invited to meet in Göppingen on April 18, 2013, to learn more about current projects and trends in logistics.
Building on the success of last year’s event, center director Dietmar Ausländer and a number of other specialists and cooperative partners from the Steinbeis Network gave practical insights and valuable stimulation for participants from the field of logistics. The event took place as part of an initiative of the German National Association for Logistics (BVL). Presentations on lean production concepts, scenario planning for logistics networks, sustainability in logistics planning, implementation of lean management strategies in logistics and factory/ office development planning made the event worthwhile and informative. A get-together following the presentations offered yet another platform for more in-depth discussion and networking.
Not even completed yet, and already getting stellar praise from Berlin and Bonn: The German Commission for UNESCO’s World Decade “Education for Sustainable Development” recognized Prof. Dr. Ulrich Holzbaur for his “The Manager’s Cookbook”, which was featured in Steinbeis Edition.
The Manager’s Cookbook compares essential aspects of management and cooking based on the idea: What can managers learn from cooking? The book purposely doesn’t contain a traditional collection of recipes, since “Recipes are no guarantee for success,” according to Ulrich Holzbaur. “You need an understanding of the principles behind it.” In the chapters management and cooking, science, project-centered approaches, results-centered approaches and sustainability, Holzbaur digs into the “secret ingredients” in management and cooking.
The book can be considered a significant contribution to “Education for Sustainable Development” in that it highlights the important role longterm thinking and sensible usage of resources play in both management and cooking. And the knowledge of these connections can make a huge difference when it comes to shaping future strategies – or to borrow the motto of the UN’s Agenda 21 action plans: “Think global and cook local.” The cookbook hopes to provide valuable information not just to the cooking manager or the managing cook, but also to anyone interested in learning more about management, cooking and the world. Indeed, management and cooking both require a solid skills basis and creative execution of ideas. The year in which the Manager’s Cookbook was published was proclaimed the “Year of Nutrition” as part of the United Nations World Decade “Education for Sustainable Development” – and it certainly does its part to address the objectives of the United Nations with contributions from the fields of nutrition and management which both offer solutions to future problems and help shape future sustainability strategies. Due to its impact, the book was recognized by the German UNESCO Commission as part of the World Decade program. It can be obtained through Steinbeis Edition starting in April (ISBN 978-3-943356-35-9).
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Holzbaur
Steinbeis Transfer Center Applied Management (Aalen)
su0217@stw.de
The Steinbeis Transfer Center Institute for Integrated Design (i/i/d) in Bremen and print and media partner Müller Ditzen, received the sought-after international GOOD DESIGN Award Chicago for their yearly calendar “Netzwerke 2012”. Conceived and designed by i/i/d and implemented by the printer, paper supplier Hansa was also on board the project.
It all started when the printer, the paper wholesaler and the creative agency joined forces to develop a calendar. A calendar? Not the most original idea, you might think. But through design (sketches and layouts: Detlef Rahe, Melanie Köhler, Shushi Li), styling, photography, visual selection, typography, 12 types of paper and 12 finishing techniques that prove the skill of each of the partners, the calendar gains it uniqueness.
The topic of networks is in the air. It is considered the key to influence, success and personal advancement. Of course, with so much networking going on, the soul of business – real work, true friendships, pure values – are being threatened. The calendar takes the word “network” literally, presenting real networks and structures seen and photographed at different places in the world. Worldwide networks, so to speak.
The GOOD DESIGN Award Chicago is the oldest and one of the most well-known and esteemed design awards in the world. It is granted annually through the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies. Since 1950, the award has been given each year for contributions in the categories of design and innovation, sustainability, creativity, branding, ecologically responsible design, human factors, materials, technology, graphic arts, packaging and universal design.