Collaborations in Chemnitz
The third Industry Collaboration Experience (ICE3) was a major success! Students, industry representatives, and academics travelled to Chemnitz University of Technology (TU Chemnitz) for a week-long intensive at the start of May 2023. The focus of the event was a collaboration opportunity resulting in meaningful and exciting outcomes for all who participated. This was a truly global event with representation from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Iran, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
For students, this event presented the opportunity to apply technical knowledge gained from their university studies to work on real-world problems within a sports engineering context. Each project group comprised a mixture of students from 3 university partners, providing the chance of working with a variety of people from across the world with diverse skills and backgrounds.
The insights and knowledge gained through the hard work and dedication of the students provided the industry partners with useful insight for tackling current challenges within their respective companies.
The projects included:
Each project was undertaken by 5 students with the help of their designated company partners and academic staff. Combining the expertise of industry representation and academia was an invaluable asset to the students, who benefitted from the knowledge that both brought to the table.
After the project groups were designated and all participants had a chance to get acquainted, the work began. The Department of Sports Equipment & Technology at TU Chemnitz provided laboratory- and workspaces for the students, with an expansive range of specialist equipment. Each group also had their own spaces to collaborate, generate ideas and plan future steps.
There were also many opportunities for socializing and networking across the week. The weather was warm and sunny, so most lunch hours were enjoyed outside in the sun. The evenings presented participants with the chance to tour Chemnitz (including a visit to the Karl Marx monument) and explore the restaurants and pubs across the city.
The event featured social activities such as outdoor rock climbing and a site visit to Diamant Fahrradwerke. Students had the chance of seeing the Diamant/TREK bicycle production line and were impressed with the scale of operation in the evolution from bike parts to finished products.
ICE3 presented an exciting week of collaboration across European partners. The students benefitted from the interaction with industry partners and were challenged with three distinct research questions. The week ended with final presentations to summarize the challenges, findings, and future research possibilities from all three project groups.
The event was a fantastic success in maintaining existing and fostering new European collaboration opportunities. A very special thank you goes to the Department of Sports Equipment & Technology at TU Chemnitz for their warm welcome. We look forward to continuing these cross-European relationships at the next event – Special Topics in Sports Engineering – at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands this July!