The Werner-von-Siemens Centre for Industry and Science e.V. (WvSC) is an industry and science campus located in Berlin’s future-oriented Siemensstadt Square.
Research in the real lab
Who we are
We shape the collaboration between science, industry, SMEs and start-ups in a new and practical way. This succeeds because the WvSC is represented in Berlin at locations close to production, enabling close exchange between science and practice.
Our goal at the WvSC is to enable transformative research and thus actively shape change in industry and society through social and technological innovation.
We see ourselves as a real laboratory that produces not only first-class research results in future-relevant technologies, but also social innovation in the thematic fields of “Education” and “Design of Collaboration (New Work)”.
The "WvSC House"
What we do
Technology
Future topics
Our future topics are determined by the theme of change. Strengthening the ability of organizations to change and the networking of actors on these topics as well as the interdisciplinary discussion of content is our decisive contribution to the transformation for Berlin and Germany as a business location.
Production change
Industrial production is undergoing a transformation. Among other things, digitization, new technologies and new business models are driving change. We are shaping this actively and together.
Energy change
To enable the energy transition, new technologies such as data-based energy optimization or hydrogen are needed. We are conducting research into this.
Mobility change
Mobility is changing in society and industry. Digitization enables new solutions.
We are researching and testing these.
Cross-project exchange
Technology fields
Our R&D activities focus on four technology fields. We promote cross-sectional exchange in the technology fields across the individual projects. Therefore, there is a cross-sectional contact person for each technology field.
You can get a deeper insight into our research activities through our publications. Use the topic filter to find publications on a specific technology field.
Digitization / Connectivity
The development, production and use of industrial goods and services is increasingly digitized. At the WVSC, we are initially focusing on the cross-cutting topics of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning and Digital Twins. In doing so, the work follows the overarching goal of end-to-end, targeted and intelligent information and process provision.
Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing is a great opportunity for industrial production. Reduction of raw material usage, flexibility and cost savings due to low inventory are possible advantages. Therefore, we deal with diverse topics around additive manufacturing: AM-compatible product design, development of AM machines and process monitoring for integrated quality assurance during manufacturing.
New materials
The materials available for additive manufacturing are currently still very limited. The relationship between the materials and the manufacturing process is often unclear. Therefore, this topic is a focus at the Werner-von-Siemens Centre: We research and develop new materials for additive production and test their suitability for the corresponding applications.
Sustainability
The topic of sustainability is also of growing importance in our projects. For example, we deal with generative design solutions that save material and can only be built with the help of additive manufacturing or with the optimization of material use in the context of Circular Economy.
New work
How we work
One of WvSC’s goals is to encourage and establish the use of new forms of work across organizations. In this way, we want to enable decentralized, self-organized and agile ways of working that adapt quickly and continuously to external circumstances. In this context, our premises and the design of our workshop rooms also play a significant role in enabling the application of methods such as design thinking, combined with rapid prototyping and meeting at eye level.
The staff members of the WvSC office support the members in the development of new research and training ideas by designing and moderating innovative workshop formats as well as supporting targeted content-related networking.
As an office, we are pioneering the development of real, virtual, and hybrid facilitation, event, and workshop concepts at this point that allow our members to actively experience new formats of collaboration, which they can then take back to their own organizations.
In the COVID-19 period, the WvSC has shown how an innovation ecosystem at eye level with all partners can also work in a virtually stable and purpose-driven sustainable way. The goal is to further perpetuate the resulting ecosystem through a combination of analog and virtual events.
The WvSC has created a virtual working environment for ongoing research projects and for the initiation of research projects, in which projects can collaborate digitally synchronously and asynchronously. Of particular note here is our Office365 instance, which we have been using since January 2021 to collaborate on project outlines and enable project teams to exchange ideas. For the design of virtual workshops, we use the video conferencing platform of MS Teams supplemented by the virtual whiteboard solution Miro.
History
Emergence of the WvSC
The Werner-von-Siemens Centre for Industry and Science e.V. (WvSC) was founded in 2019 as a non-profit association initially under the name IWCB (Industry and Science Campus Berlin). The purpose of the association is the promotion of science and research as well as the promotion of education.
In the subject areas explained above, the association has the following goals:
“The association aims to promote the pre-competitive exchange of knowledge between science, research and industry. In particular, the association aims to inform the general public about socio-industrial challenges and their possible solutions by processing and consolidating scientific findings and technological developments. Through information events, workshops and publications, the general public shall gain knowledge and the broad scientific and socio-political discourse for the real implementation of solutions to socio-industrial challenges in the German economy shall be supported.”
The activities of the WvSC are coordinated by its office, which has its office space in Siemensstadt Square. The association also operates several co-working and laboratory spaces for the implementation of research projects.
An MoU between the State of Berlin and the founding members of the WvSC (Siemens AG, TU Berlin, BAM and Fraunhofer Gesellschaft) secured funding and laid the foundation for the association’s three original research projects (ProFIT EA, HTA and MRO).
A pipeline of new projects, project proposals and project ideas was built on the foundation of the collective knowledge created by the participating organizations. In 2021, BioFusion 4.0, the first federally funded project, was launched at WvSC.
In the picture from left to right: First row: Michael Müller, mayor of Berlin; Cedrik Neike, Member of the Board of Management Siemens AG; Second row: Ramona Popp, senator for economy, energy and operations, Joe Kaeser, CEO Siemens AG
Image source: Siemens AG press release, October 2018
Since its founding, the number of member organizations in the WvSC has grown steadily. Beyond the founding members, research institutions (e.g. Physikalisch Technische Bundesantalt PTB), industry (e.g. T-Systems) as well as various small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups have been added.
In addition to its research activities, the Education WG has developed formats to ensure the future viability of its member companies and their employees. With topics such as “Technology Ethics” and “NewWork in the Factory”, the WG takes into account the technology and production-related focus of the WvSC.
Your contact persons in the association
Business office
Erik Wiegard
Chief Executive Officer
#strategy
Raphael Hell
Chief Financial Officer
#strategy #finances
Kathrin Bischoff
Head of R&D
#strategy #projectideas #technology #network
Vinia Gräbert
Financial Accountant
#finance #controlling #accounting
Charlotte Ohmann
Communication manager
#communication #website #branding #socialmedia
Nadine Strehlke
Head of education
#education #infrastructure #events
Luzie Lerche
Working student
#r&d #processautomation #communication
Peter Höhmann
Project Management
#r&d #campusdyna
Nick Harder
Working student
#infrastructure
Henrik von Siemens
Project Management
#r&d #werk4.0
Benjamin Blatz
Head of Infrastructure
#infrastructure
Daniel Potenes
Working student
#infrastructure
Nadine Ebrahimi
Project Management
#education #evoframe
Heike Kühn
Project Management
#r&d #5gcompass
Anna-Caterina Walk
Agile Coach
#werk4.0 #agile
Christoph Dähn
Operator manufacturing and laboratory space
#infrastructure
Kolja Pietsch
Learning & Development Specialist
#werk4.0 #education
Winnona Lüdemann
Management Assistant
Alireza Ranjbar
IT Management
Christin Rohde
Project Assistant R&D
#r&d
Board of directors
Board of directors
Dr. Jens Dietrich
Chairman of the board
Siemens Energy
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Panne
Writing guidance
BAM
Thomas Staufenbiel
Treasurer
Gestalt Robotics
Prof. Dr. Dietmar Göhlich
Board of directors
TU Berlin
Dr. Gunter Beitinger
Board of directors
Siemens AG
Dr. Karsten Jänsch
Board of directors
Datalyze Solutions
Dr. Andreas Böhm
Board of directors
T-Systems International
Advisory support
Advisory Board
Dr. Horst Kümmlee
Advisory Board Chair
Olaf Bolduan
Vice Chair of the Advisory Board
Christiane Weiß
Advisory Board
Dr. Christian Hinke
Advisory Board
Wilhelm Kirchner
Advisory Board
Roland Sillmann
Advisory Board
Dr. Michael Suhr
Advisory Board