At the 7th Researchers’ BBQ of the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT at the Logistic Campus, the research clans not only gave an insight into their current work, but also pointed out perspectives for the next year. Michael Schmidt, project manager of the Center of Excellence, started by presenting some success stories from the clans’ work: Among the highlights are activities in which several clans are involved, such as the “Digital Angel” project. “Without the networking of the scientists in the Center of Excellence, we would certainly never have had the idea of initiating projects like this,” said Michael Schmidt. At the meeting of the performance centers of the Fraunhofer Society in Munich the day before, the organization of the Center of Excellence with its clans, in which scientists network at the operational level and create completely new things through their joint work, met with great interest. “The clans are certainly a recipe for success for our Center of Excellence,” says Michael Schmidt.
The Center of Excellence Logistics and IT has now informed about “Innovations between Logistics and IT” at the Future Congress Logistics – ”37. Dortmunder Gespräche”. Within the framework of the session “Science and Practice Transfer” of the Fraunhofer Symposium, the afternoon was dedicated to the activities of the Center of Excellence. Christoph Besenfelder of the Fraunhofer IML, the head of the Center of Excellence, presented the innovation ecosystem of the initiative. Dr. Johanna Renker, IfADo – Leibniz Institute for Work Research at the TU Dortmund, used the opportunity to inform the participants of the session about research results in the field of “Cognitive Ergonomics” in her subsequent lecture on the topic “Healthy and High-Performance at the Workplace”. The Research Clan of the same name is one of ten research groups within the Center of Excellence, in which scientists work on interdisciplinary future fields of logistics. Tobias Wigbers from Brockhaus AG, associated industry partner of the Center of Excellence, then presented examples of successful cooperation with the Center of Excellence in his contribution “Shaping innovations together – data analytics in inventory management”.
The focus at the first TRANSFER.FESTIVAL of Digital Hub Logistics and Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML on Tuesday, July 2, 2019, from 9.30 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Dortmund will be on the transfer of new technologies into practice. The Center of Excellence Logistics and IT will participate in the event with a workshop on its Escape Game, which invites visitors to discover the latest technologies.
Who could present the Center of Excellence Logistics and IT better than the researchers? In 2 minutes and 20 seconds, eight scientists from various institutions explain the aims of the Center of Excellence and how it is organised.
The Digital Logistics Award is one of the most important awards in the logistics start-up scene, awarded by Digital.Hub Logistics Dortmund, which is part of the innovation ecosystem of the Center of Excellence. The award is aimed at founders, but also digital departments in companies, so-called start-ups, and other idea providers in logistics.
Should machines replace people at work? Do smart systems make working easier or will working people become lonely? More than 50 participants, all of them interested practitioners, exchanged views in an interactive debate about opportunities and risks in the digital age.
