At Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), researchers constantly develop new technologies that promise to be beneficial for industry and the society. At the same time, the companies’ demand for innovative products and concepts is increasing. The KIT Business Club brings together science and industry: It supplies information, identifies potential areas of cooperation, and establishes contacts. The about 30 renowned enterprises that have joined the Business Club so far profit from these activities. Recently, the KIT Business Club celebrated its fifth anniversary.
“Innovation is a strategic pillar of KIT. The KIT Business Club strengthens the innovative power of KIT and of the companies cooperating with it,” said KIT President Professor Holger Hanselka on the occasion of the anniversary. “It identifies individual market needs of its members and provides systematic access to the potentials of KIT and the contacts in its environment.” In the opinion of Hanselka, close affiliation of the Business Club to the management of KIT and organizational integration into the KIT Innovation Management Service Unit ensure that the Club is a central node point for information and contacts at KIT.
The KIT Business Club was established in 2009, the year when KIT was founded. Its concept follows that of internationally renowned universities, such as the University of Oxford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In the German research sector, the KIT Business Club is a rather new structure. The results of the Club’s five years of work are quite impressive. The members are industrial companies as well as service companies, globally acting corporate groups as well as innovative medium-sized enterprises. 27 renowned companies have joined the Club and profit from its offers. These are: 3M, ABB, AVL, Bank von Roll, Bayer, Bosch, Bruker, Bürkert, BW-Bank, EnBW, E+H, Eternit, Hirschmann, Innoveas, Kraftanlagen Heidelberg, Magna Powertrain, M + W Group, NDT, Walter Neff GmbH, Opel, Pilz, PWC, Siemens, Technologiepark Karlsruhe, Voith, Witzenmann, Würth.
“Our services are constantly adapted to the needs of the member enterprises and KIT,” says the Head of the KIT Business Club, Dr. Barbara Schmuker. “As a result, the KIT Business Club is developed further and gaining attractiveness for both sides.” To bring together people, projects, and know-how, the KIT Business Club determines the research and development interests of its member enterprises, organizes extensive searches, and establishes contacts, both to the KIT and among the enterprises. The members are provided with latest information or technology offers and invited to join events, such as theme days, meetings, and workshops.
For the scientists, the KIT Business Club is a forum for mutual knowledge transfer and the initiation of projects to commercialize innovations.
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.