Deputy Director European Technology Innovation Center, Kaiserslautern

About Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Pickel

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Pickel has been successful in both science and industry, working as a manager for RAILTEC/RABOTEC and VOEGELE before being appointed Professor for Agric. Engineering, Envir. Technology and Communal Machinery at the Univ. of Halle-Wittenberg. In 2003, he was appointed Dean of the Agric. Fclty. From 2007 – 2010 he was the Manager for Tractor Applications at John Deere Werke Mannheim. Since June 2010 is the Deputy Director John Deere European Technology and Innovation Center in Kaiserslautern.

About John Deere

About Siemens

Head of the International Simultaneous Engineering Center and Business Partner Human Resources

About its representatives:

As a mechanical engineer, Mr. Ames worked in the fields of quality assurance, head of the production department of distribution pumps and is now head of the International Simultaneous Engineering Center where he is responsible for process chains for new products like pumps, injectors and rail.

As Business Partner Human Resources Mr. Hartwig Löffler is responsible for recruitment and trainee programs at Bosch in Homburg.

Head of the Department of Software Engineering at Kaiserslautern University

Executive Director of the Fraunhofer IESE

About Prof. Rombach

Prof. Rombach's main research topics can be found in the area of "Software Engineering", especially in methods for developing software with predictable quality, in quantitative methods for measuring and assessing software products and software processes, in languages and methods for developing and using explicit software process models, in process-based software development environments as well as in software reuse. As a consultant, he works for various U.S. American and European companies.

About IESE

The Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE) was formed in 1996 and is now one of 60 institutes of the Fraunhofer Society. The association IESE is located in Kaiserslautern and has over 200 employees. In the region of Kaiserslautern the institution is networked with the local science and industry, including computer science, mathematics and engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. The IESE is not only locally but globally a leading research institution in the field of software systems development. The importance of software, for example in the automotive Industry, or for information systems in health, as well as for administrative purposes is steadily increasing. The Fraunhofer Institutes have joined the development, implementation and optimization of prescribed procedures and look for complex solutions and application-oriented system. Photos of the event are online. More information in PDF or visit www.iese.fraunhofer.de.

Plant Director of HegerGuss and HegerFerrit GmbH

About Mr. Heger

Johannes Heger is the managing director of the rich in tradition company HegerGuss, which is located in the region of Kaiserslautern. After his studies in mechanical engineering and his overseas work experience at General Motors, he is now steadily keen on optimizing process dynamics. Thus, he closely cooperates with university and the Fraunhofer Institutes with regard to manufacturing process simulations. The use of in-house simulation technologies (proof of strength, hardening, cooling) contributes to shorter delivery times, increased quality, and cost savings due to fewer test runs. An impressive revolution of industrial assembly lines is his new plant for iron components for wind turbines in Sembach which is the first foundry worldwide with an assembly line production of castings with a weight of 15 tons.

About HegerGuss

HegerGuss cooperates with research institutes and universities; develops its own knowledge management software. The collaboration with the University of Kaiserslautern and the Fraunhofer Institutes based and reinforced the simulation of casting processes significantly. Johannes Heger is a commendable contact person to find out about successful cooperation between Industry and University and how this hand in hand working keeps the companies developments innovative. Last but not least he can refer what effectively is possible to do with iron on a scientific background. HegerGuss is an enterprise, which unites various research areas of interest for engineers and has forward-looking perspectives. Graduates of various disciplines, such as Computer science, mathematics and economics are there, therefore are welcome applicants.

Photos of the event are online. More information in the pdf or visit www.hegerguss.de.

Plant Director of OPEL Kaiserslautern

About Ms. Kleyboldt:

After her apprenticeship as a car mechanic and her subsequent Mechanical Engineering studies, she entered Opel in 1995 as a Manufacturing Engineer. Following a manager training at GM, Kleyboldt took over the managerial responsibility in production as well as planning and construction of manufacturing plants in Rüsselsheim and Antwerpen. She then was appointed Director Manufacturing Engineering Paint, Polymers, and Automation in Rüsselsheim and was responsible for all European locations in the manufacturing network. Since August 2010 Ms. Kleyboldt has been managing the Opel plant in Kaiserslautern.

About the Opel Plant in Kaiserslautern:

With about 2.800 employees the OPEL plant is one of the biggest industrial employers in the Western palatinate. The production focus lies with vehicle components for body and chassis made of plate or aluminum, e.g. side walls, hood, axis, and seat frames. Furthermore, lightweight metal engines as well as diesel engines are manufactured.

Photos of the event are online.

Lord Mayor of the City of Kaiserslautern

About Dr. Weichel:

Following his studies in biology at the University of Kaiserslautern Mr. Weichel also gained experience as a research assistant at the University of Kaiserslautern before receiving his doctor's degree in zoology. Starting in the 1990s Dr. Weichel became more and more actively involved in environmental and political aspects and thus established the fundament of a successful career in the domain of public interest. He was appointed Head of the Department of Environment and Forestry of Kaiserslautern's city council. In 1995, he took on the position of Deputy Mayor for Environment, Health, Youth, Social Affairs and Sports and was highly committed to work for the Ministry of Environment and Foresty during the following years. In 2000, he was elected President of the Structural and Approval Directorate South and continued to strengthen his dedication to local politics. In 2007 Dr. Weichel successfully won the election as Lord Mayor of the City of Kaiserslautern. One of his main aims is the internationalization of the city. Thus, he is highly engaged in establishing business activity with executives from India. Additionally, in 2011 he started the city event series „Year of Internationality – Science produces integration“.

About the Networking with the Lord Mayor of Kaiserslautern:

Dr. Weichel has emphasized that he rather wants to function as a mentor than an unapproachable role model in the meeting with the students. He, in particular, wants to offer them the opportunity of also discussing the more difficult times in his career since he knows that these sometimes complex decisions and experiences are especially of interest for graduate students who are passing from the field of research into a professional career.

Photos of the event are online.

Founder and CEO of Comarch S.A., Kraków

About Prof. Filipiak

In the 1980s Mr. Filipiak worked for France Telecom Laboratories (Paris) and was actively involved at the universities in Australia and the United States. From 1991 until 1998 Prof. Filipiak held the Chair for Telecommunication at the University of Applied Sciences in Krakow (AGH). In 1993 he founded the Comarch company. He is a member of the Committee for Electronics and Telecommunication at the Polish Academy of Sciences and author of more than one hundred publications in the fields of telecommunication and teleinformatics; three of which were also published in Western Europe and the USA. Since November 2010 he is the CEO of Comarch S.A.

Alkoma Maschinenbau e.K.

Max Albrecht : Ambitious & hardworking

Grown up in Columbia, the native German found himself facing very difficult conditions when returning to Germany to start his professional career. Since his school-leaving qualifications were not accepted, he was forced to start an apprenticeship. Via second-chance education he finally could start his studies – without interrupting his professional activity. In 2004 he took the plunge and founded his own company without any financial background. Optimism and commitment have led to success – the expected sales will reach the mark of one million within the current year. His preference to strike a new path became obvious in his strategy to face last year´s economic crisis – his motto: innovation instead of wait and see! Thus, Mr. Albrecht will discuss the competencies needed to keep a young company innovative but economically successful at the same time.

CEO of WIKON Kommunikationstechnik GmbH

Joachim Molz: From Assistant to CEO in Just 3 Years

After his business studies at the University of Trier and the Spanish University of Pamplona Joachim Molz first worked as an assistant for the CEO of a medium-sized holding company in 1995. Three years later he managed to climb from the position of an assistant to Managing Partner of the investment company Ecotraffic – System for Environment and Traffic GmbH in Trier. The same year, in 1998, he successfully boosted his career to another level by being appointed CEO of Ecotraffic-Holding’s main involvement, namely the WIKON Kommunikationstechnik GmbH Kaiserslautern.

WIKON Kommunikationstechnik GmbH Kaiserslautern:

Since its foundation in 1991 the company WIKON has established itself as an international specialist for remote monitoring of technical systems, e.g., the acquisition of fuel levels and remote meter reading. With the development, production, and distribution of industrial remote monitoring technologies in currently about 40 different countries, the company reaches a business volume of almost 3.0 M Euro per year. Being a medium-sized company in Kaiserslautern, WIKON is constantly involved in the development of M2M-products on the basis of the newest communications technologies and standards and has the aim of extending the cooperation with further international businesses. WIKON furthermore attaches great importance to the recruitment of junior staff from the field of computer science.

Photos of the event are online.

CEO & Entrepreneur President

Top Manager, Entrepreneur President, and High-Ranking Economic Functionary

As an economist holding a doctorate, Dr. Gerhard Braun has been CEO of the Karl Otto Braun GmbH since 2007. Moreover, as Vice-President of the Confederation of German Employer Organisations (BDA) in Berlin and as President of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Federation of Entrepreneur Associations (Landesvereinigung Unternehmerverbände Rheinland-Pfalz, LVU), he has an extensive knowledge about the job market in the region, in Germany, and in Europe.

Karl Otto Braun GmbH & Co. KG

As a family business, KOB today is one the world’s biggest producers of elastic special textiles for medicine as well as a market leader for the development and production of inliner systems for trenchless sewage renovation – for this, KOB was awarded the Innovation Prize of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. Their highly qualified teams in Europe and Asia recruit employees from the fields of Mechanical, Electrical, and Industrial Engineering.

Bundesvereinigung der deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände (BDA) & Landesvereinigung Unternehmerverbände Rheinland-Pfalz (LVU)

In committees on a national, European, and international level these associations are involved in the field of the job market, in education and personnel issues.

Photos of the event are online.

CEO of the Academy/Personnel Development, proALPHA Software AG

Educator for Further Education in ERP-systems and Recruiter of Future proAPLHA Employees

Andreas Traut studied Business Education at the University of Mannheim and graduated as Diplom Business teacher. He is trainer for ERP-systems and since 2007 a member of the corporate board of executives in the department of the proALPHA Academy and Personnel Development. The expertise he can rely on here comes from his various publishings on personnel, executive, and organization management as well as from his experience in teaching at national and international universities. At the proALPHA Academy Traut focuses on the education of employees in specific trainings in order to assure innovative further education in the ERP area and the highest customer service possible. Thus, he is a good contact person for questions concerning personnel development, esp. for IT-experts and business economists.

proALPHA Software AG – “Think global, act local”

proALPHA has proved to be a continuously profitable Business-Service-Provider in the world of industry and commerce. The company offers its clients high-qualified consulting services as well as a holistic solution concept - the ERP-complete solution proALPHA - when it comes to striving for corporate success, whether on a national or international level. Included in their client list are industrial and commercial businesses from, e.g., the packaging machine industry, medical technology, aviation industry, etc. proALPHA promotes its standard software as flexibly adjustable to the needs of today and tomorrow, and thus guarantees cooperating businesses security concerning independence of hardware and operating systems. The company is always looking for: dedicated and qualified software engineers with knowledge in luK-technologies and new media as well as competent consultants.