December 2012: ERMA InnoStud in Unispectrum

Innovative, Interdisciplinary and Practical: TU Students get involved in ERMA!

Within the joint project ERMA – Energy and Recourse Efficient Mobile Working Machines funded by the “Stiftung Rheinland-Pfalz für Innovation“ the involved institutes strike out in a new direction and promote a close coupling between research and teaching.

Economical success is based on innovations. New leading-edge technologies make this progress possible. Foundation of the technologies are thereby innovative ideas from the engineering. Hence, in the engineering education, emphasis has be put on a holistic approach, within which not only mere studying of technical tasks is dedicated to the student, but also of acquiring of certain skills with distinctive application-orientation based on practice. The engineering education thereby has to aim on the practice of the future. The ERMA-Team follows this model with its “InnoStud” initiative.

The project partners on the RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau provide a forum for students projects and final theses. In changing formats - as a workshop or a World-Café, online as a webinar or a video conference, as an excursion or in the role of a participant in an expertise meeting – ERMA-InnoStud is the platform and offers wide educational spectrum that gives a framework to the students, which can be completed and extended later in the studies. High personal responsibility towards the scientific thesis is required from each student. It is important to apply the already acquired technical knowledge in a practice related project in close coordination with related work in the collaborating team. Therefore each and every has to realize the existing problems, to prioritize their importance or negligibility and to apply the right methodology for solving the technical problem. This innovative character of the forum and its heterogeneity – with conscious fluctuation of students and topics – leads to a creative dynamic in the group, which continuously generates new impulses for the scientific research. Through the aimed interconnection between studies and research ERMA-InnoStud encourages scientific, interdisciplinary work of students and makes the engineering education at the university of Kaiserslautern more attractive.

Objective of the project is the research and development of energy efficient concepts and technologies for mobile working machines. Major focus will be put on the powertrain, energy management, friction management and life cycle management. Students work actively as well! They become in their individually chosen specialization work and final papers an intensive access to research thematic and preform a valuable contribution to the project. In doing so high practical relevance of the teachings is achieved and even continuously increased. The upcoming engineers are being qualified according to the latest perceptions, so that they can acquire the necessary competences for the technological improvement of the future. Big number of students take advantage of the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in specific area with a research assistant job within the project. Get involved with ERMA!

Further Information