Phoenix Contact (headquartered in Germany) is a world leader in the manufacture of connecting components and systems, electrical products and industrial automation solutions. More than 15,000 employees around the world are working for the new achievements of the industry. The company’s many years of experience have shown that close communication and dialogue between industry and universities has a positive effect on all stakeholders. In order to popularize specialized knowledge and improve the quality of training engineering personnel ready to implement Industry 4.0 ideas, the company has created and is developing an international educational program “EduNet”.
The main goal and ideas of EduNet:
- coverage of the latest trends in the field of automation;
- organizing the transfer of knowledge between universities and the company in the areas of education and training of specialists;
- Cultural diversity and interaction as a basis for improving overall performance.
EduNet now has more than 160 universities in 23 countries and is growing steadily. Through participation in the EduNet program, each partner university has access to the latest advances in automation, both in practice and in teaching methods and techniques. The knowledge and materials resources is constantly expanding by both companies and universities. The boundaries between educational institutions are blurred, the latest necessary knowledge becomes available to all comers. The Department as a representative of the university is a full member and partner of the program. The close connection between the company and industrial enterprises is a guarantee of the relevance of the knowledge acquired by students. This provides the industry with qualified personnel, immediately ready for practical activities.
In cooperation with KPI, the company provided the department with 6 training stands with control equipment that meets modern world standards of quality and functionality, as well as software for effective training of a new generation of highly qualified engineers. To deploy the laboratory, the department staff has ndergone special training and maintains close cooperation with the parent company and its local representative office. The laboratory is developing due to the significant amount of intellectual resources involved. Students of the department play a crucial role in this activity.
Phoenix Contact encourages students to self-develop and implement their progressive ideas. Partner universities can participate in the international student project competition Xplore New Automation Award, which is held under the auspices of the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Energy.