Bombardier Transportation and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have agreed on establishing an endowed professorship for railway systems engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. The world market leader in railway transport technology has thus been supporting close-to-application research and education in the field of railway systems engineering and the pertinent components for more than 10 years now.
In addition, the Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe GmbH (VBK, Karlsruhe Municipal Transport Services) are involved in this project. Cooperation is aimed at enhancing knowledge in the field of railway systems engineering by diploma or Ph. D. theses. The Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe and the KIT use each other’s rooms, equipment, and instruments. The VBK plan to make available hall areas at the Betriebshof Ost (Eastern depot) to the Universität Karlsruhe, where the latter may conduct experiments.
The new chair plans to conduct industrially or publicly funded research and development projects in the future. It will also offer instruction sessions and advanced training seminars to engineers in employment. Fields of research will cover mechatronic systems, energy management, and maintenance concepts as well as vehicle convenience and safe driving. “This endowed professorship excellently complements our activities pursued in the field of transport technology. With this, we will be among the top in railway transport research and teaching”, says rector Horst Hippler.
By endowing this chair, Bombardier Transportation and the Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe contribute to the establishment of the future Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) that was a key element of the concept for the future that succeeded in the Excellence Initiative. Within KIT, the Universität and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe will jointly structure and strategically plan research projects.
Following the foundation of a “Bombadier Center of Competence for Railway Systems Engineering and Integration“ at the Technical University of Dresden in December 2007, this new endowed chair at Karlsruhe will be another cooperation platform for research, education, training, and knowledge transfer. First projects will start upon the completion of the current appointment procedure for the endowed chair.
“With the KIT, we have found another leading research and education partner in the field of railway technology”, underlines Wolfgang Tölsner, Chief Operating Officer of Bombardier Transportation. “The endowed professorship is aimed at specifically supporting high-quality and close-to-practice research and, of course, at enhancing the innovativeness and attractiveness of Bombardier as an employer in the academic world.”
“The cooperation is of benefit to both partners. The Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe will profit from latest developments in science at the KIT and, vice versa, be able to support young scientists in practice by supplying appropriate infrastructure”, says Dr. Walter Casazza, Managing Director of the Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe.
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) represents the merger of the Universität Karlsruhe with the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. Altogether, it has 8000 employees and an annual budget of 700 million Euros.
The KIT will be an institution of internationally excellent research and teaching in natural and engineering sciences. KIT shall attract the best experts from all over the world, set new standards in teaching and promotion of young scientists, and establish the leading European center in the field of energy research. KIT will assume a leading role in nanosciences worldwide. It is the objective of KIT to be one of the most important cooperation partners of industry.
zk, April 17, 2008
Dr. Elisabeth Zuber-Knost
Press Officer
Kaiserstraße 12
76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Phone: +49 721/608-2089
Fax: +49 721/608-3658
For details, please contact:
Bombardier Transportation
Jürgen Kornmann
Phone: +49 30 986071138
E-mail
Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe GmbH
Achim Winkel
Phone: +49 721 61077063
E-mail