ARENA2036 - Review of the year 2024
Picture: Johannes Kirchherr / ARENA2036
2024 in the ARENA2036
This year has been a busy one for us at the research campus - numerous events in the course of which thousands of people from all over the world found their way to us in Stuttgart, new members, new colleagues and lots of new projects. We would like to use the end of the year to once again thank everyone who has contributed to ARENA2036 continuing to be a national and global showcase project for successful collaboration between cultures, disciplines, companies, continents and departments. The many colleagues, members and guests have contributed to the fact that we can now look back on a more than successful year 2024!
We would like to take this opportunity to look back at some of the highlights and - for once - not look to the future, but to the past. We hope you enjoy reading!
events
We are delighted by the unwavering interest in the work of our members and that such a wide variety of people have visited us at events. For some, the hustle and bustle on the store floor may even have been a little exhausting at times. We would therefore like to thank all our colleagues on site for their hospitality and patience during the more than 200 (!) small and large events last year. From conferences, workshops, consortium meetings, celebrations, lectures and training courses to delegation trips and visits from politicians - every type of event was there.
Design Factory Winter Gala - January 23, 2024
The year got off to a lively start in January with the Design Factory Winter Gala. The Winter Gala marked the traditional conclusion of the semester course "Design Thinking - Innovation Process in Practice", and we were able to welcome over 130 guests who were presented with exciting concept prototypes developed by the students themselves during the course of the event. The whole event was complemented and rounded off by the Tindustry Job Dating, where students were able to talk directly to companies.
Sound interesting? The next Winter Gala is already just around the corner: on January 23, 2025, we will once again welcome everyone who wants to get to know the Design Factory better and is excited about this year's prototypes developed by the student teams.
Second and Third Eclipse Tractus-X Community Days - May and December 2024
The Tractus-X Community Days entered their second and third round this year! Once again, the global developer community came together in Stuttgart to exchange ideas and get to know the Tractus-X IT tools. Both events offered participants inspiring keynotes, but the practical deep dives on open source topics as well as interactive workshops and hands-on sessions where participants could get hands-on themselves were particularly exciting.
If you want more, you can already look forward to next year: The fourth Tractus-X Community Days will take place from May 22 to 23, 2025 - we are looking forward to the next exciting insights!
Click here for the detailed follow-up report.
about:tomorrow: ARENA2036 celebrates 10 years of the future - June 13 and 14, 2024
The highlight of our year was the big über:morgen event to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our research campus and the start of our third funding phase. In mid-June, we welcomed numerous leading figures from science, business and industry to our research campus and celebrated a wonderful event. More than 300 invited guests gathered in the ARENA2036 to kick off the first day of the event. A panel discussion with renowned participants and the varied project fair with over 60 exhibiting companies offered guests in-depth insights into a wide range of topics from the fields of mobility, productivity, connectivity and sustainability.
On the second day, ARENA2036 then opened its doors to all interested parties as part of the Open Research Campus Day. With the project fair and a varied program - from live graffiti to juggling acts and live demonstrators - there was plenty on offer for visitors. They were able to get their own impression of ARENA2036, its partners and the projects on site while enjoying cool drinks and taking advantage of the perfect opportunity for exciting discussions.
Click here for the detailed follow-up report.
Women of Tech Conference - June 19, 2024
The Women of Tech conference also went into the next round this year! As in 2023, we had the honor of co-organizing the conference again this year, this time under the motto "Innovating Work for the 21st Century", and thus making our contribution to strengthening the role of women in the technology industry. The conference offers a central platform for valuable exchange and networking, so that women in the tech industry in particular can network and support each other.
Save the date! On May 14 and 15, 2025, the conference will enter its third round and will once again be hosted by us.
Design Factory Summer Gala - June 26, 2024
The end of the semester is also celebrated at the Design Factory Stuttgart in summer. For the summer, we let the event film speak for itself:
Bordnetze Digital - September 26, 2024
A new chapter was opened on September 26 at ARENA2036 with Bordnetze Digital 2024. As the successor to the successful VEC Day, this event is now a joint project between prostep ivip and ARENA2036. Thanks to the team around Georg Schnauffer and the support of ARENA2036, the event could be realized in an impressive environment.
The day was characterized by inspiring presentations on innovative methods in wiring harness development, insights into the possibilities of digital twins and everything else to do with flexible, future-proof wire harness production. The presentation of new standards and data-driven processes rounded off the program and provided exciting impetus for the future. The event concluded with a lively panel discussion that opened up a variety of perspectives on the innovations presented.
Bordnetze Digital will also take place at our venue again next year, on September 25, 2025 the wiring harness industry will meet again in the ARENA2036.
VWS4LS results meeting - October 15, 2024
The VWS4LS project celebrated another milestone this year with its results conference. The event focused on the results relating to the digitalization of the value chain, particularly in the areas of development, production and assembly of wire harnesses. Leading companies such as the DRÄXLMAIER Group, Kromberg & Schubert, Coroplast, Festo, Komax, the KOSTAL Group, WEZAG and ARENA2036 itself provided insights into how the Asset Administration Shell is successfully applied in practice in exciting presentations.
Project manager Christian Kosel also announced the extension of the project by a further six months at the start of the conference. This opens up numerous opportunities for further developments, particularly with regard to the link with the Catena-X data room and the general scalability of the project, as well as the transfer of the results into practice.
Click here for the detailed follow-up report.
Stuttgart Conference on Automotive Production - November 21 and 22, 2024
With our in-house conference, the Stuttgart Conference on Automotive Production, we recently heralded the final phase of the event year together. For the second time, the conference took place directly on our innovation platform, this time under the motto "Advances in Automotive Production - Digital Product Development and Manufacturing". Together with our co-organizers - IEEE, the ISW of the University of Stuttgart and the large-scale DigiTain project - we put together an extensive program over two exciting days and put the spotlight on the latest developments in the field of automotive production. The conference bridges the gap between industry, research and education and offers great opportunities for discussion and exchange.
Further innovations
A lot has also happened at our research campus apart from the many events. We have welcomed new faces and said goodbye to old ones - and the research hall has also become a movie set on more than one occasion.
Peter Froeschle becomes acatech senator
Peter Froeschle has been on board ARENA2036 since 2013. Having just been appointed by the Executive Board for a further term as Managing Director, the next honor immediately followed: in June 2024, he was appointed Senator of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech). We are thus further intensifying our collaboration with acatech. A first important step in the collaboration between acatech and ARENA2036 is the funding of the Mobility Data Space (MDS), a lighthouse project that aims to improve the interoperability of data spaces. Congratulations, Peter! We look forward to working with you for many years to come.
Dr. Clemens Ackermann joins RKW Baden-Württemberg
After more than 7 years at the Research Campus, including 3 years as Deputy Managing Director, Clemens Ackermann is now contributing his experience and knowledge to strengthen the SME sector as Managing Director of RKW Baden-Württemberg. We would like to thank Clemens for his great work over the last few years, during which he has made a significant contribution to the further development and growth of our research campus. We are very pleased that the cooperation will not end there and that we will continue to have a good connection to SMEs through Clemens in the future.
Prof. Peter Middendorf is the new Chairman of the Board of ARENA2036
There have also been some changes in the ranks of our Board of Directors this year. Peter Middendorf succeeds Wolfram Ressel both as Rector of the University of Stuttgart and as Chairman of the Board of ARENA2036 e.V. The collaboration is nothing new for either side - as Chairman of our Research Directorate, Middendorf and his colleagues have played a key role in shaping the work at the research campus for years. We are looking forward to the intensive collaboration and the new projects that await us!
Image: As Chairman of the Research Directorate, Middendorf (right) has long been closely involved in the work at the ARENA2036 research campus.
The research campus is the backdrop
ARENA2036 was used as a backdrop for video shoots more than once this year. On the one hand, the four joint projects were given greater focus, which is why the respective project managers were put in the spotlight for project videos. In addition, a 360-degree tour of ARENA2036 was recorded so that a digital image of our research hall could be created. The Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation brought out the big guns: ARENA2036 was chosen as a symbol of progress and innovation in the state of Baden-Württemberg for the new House of Tourism, which is being built in the heart of Stuttgart on Stuttgart's market square, and was used as the backdrop for the new image film that will be shown in the house in the coming years. We will keep you informed about the completion of the many, many films on our channels.
2024... and now?
2024 was eventful, but above all exciting! The start of the third funding phase marked an important milestone in the entire Research Campus project. In many new and existing projects, the foundations were laid for further years of collaboration and thus new technologies for the entire industry. We can build on these cornerstones and foundations with great confidence in 2025.
We would like to thank everyone who has supported ARENA2036 over the past year and contributed to our joint successes. We are very much looking forward to starting the new year with you!
After this great year, we are looking forward to the winter break, during which we wish all our colleagues, supporters and those involved in our work in whatever form a nice, relaxing time to take a deep breath and unwind.
Happy holidays, a happy new year and MORE LIGHT at all times from the entire ARENA2036 management team.