University and IBM plan to create joint Institute

Dr. Elisabeth Zuber-Knost
Spokeswoman

Kaiserstraße 12
76131 Karlsruhe
Tel.: +49 721/608-2089
Fax: +49 721/608-3658

Today, the Universität Karlsruhe and IBM Germany signed an agreement to set up a joint institute for service research. With the “Karlsruhe Service Research Institute”, the cooperation partners address the growing demand for academics who are specially trained for the service sector. They also plan to advance research in this field.

Further Contacts:

University of Karlsruhe (TH)
Institute of Applied Informatics and Formal Description Methods (AIFB)
Steffen Lamparter

Tel.: +49 721 608 7946
E-Mail

IBM Deutschland GmbH
Corporate Communications/
University Relations
Christian Schäfer

Tel.: +49 711 785 4815
E-Mail

Provided the the University Council and the University’s governing body, the Senate, endorse the foundation, the Institute will commence work in the summer term of 2008. It will start by offering individual classes and seminars within the programs for Business and Information Engineering. In the medium term, the partners intend to offer a self-contained master program. “As a university of excellence we also want to lead in developing new programs and course offerings,” said Prof. Horst Hippler, President of the Universität Karlsruhe, at the signing ceremony. The objective is to prepare students for key roles in enterprises, in research and in society. “The Institute will combine existing approaches at the University and strengthen them via closer linkage to business partners,” he said.

The cooperation which is agreed for an initial five year period implements an innovative “industry on campus” concept. IBM research scientists will closely collaborate with university researchers at the university site. They are to work jointly in a seminal research area - the use of scientific methods to develop and manage services, also known as Service Science, Management and Engineering (SSME). To do so, the University and IBM are financing a new professorship each. These two and the existing professorships for “Knowledge Management” and “Information and Market Engineering” at the Department of Economics and Business Engineering are merged into a new institute sponsored by IBM: “As a leading service company we aim jointly with the University of Karlsruhe to set standards in services science in Germany,” said Martin Jetter, CEO IBM Germany.

The backdrop to the joint initiative is the swiftly growing significance of the service sector. Services already account for the lion’s share of the worldwide gross added value and for around 70 percent of Germany’s gross domestic product. Yet, Germany so far has only few research projects and interdisciplinary education offerings that are specially geared to services.

The Institute is ready to take on further industry partners and seeks to network with other universities nationally and internationally.

Im Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) gehen die Universität Karlsruhe und das Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe zusammen. Gemeinsam arbeiten hier 8000 Beschäftigte mit einem jährlichen Budget von 600 Millionen Euro.

Mit KIT entsteht eine Institution international herausragender Forschung und Lehre in den Natur- und Ingenieurwissenschaften. KIT soll Attraktionspunkt für die besten Köpfe aus der ganzen Welt werden, neue Maßstäbe in Lehre und Nachwuchsförderung setzen und das führende europäische Zentrum in der Energieforschung bilden. Im Bereich der Nanowissenschaften will KIT eine weltweit führende Rolle einnehmen. Ziel von KIT ist es, einer der wichtigsten Kooperationspartner für die Wirtschaft zu sein.