Digital transformation for industry

The economy is going through the fourth industrial revolution. Driven by the Internet, the real and virtual worlds are merging to become an “Internet of Things”. The Federal Government Federal Government The Federal Government and cabinet is made up of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. While the Chancellor holds the power to issue directives, the ministers have departmental powers, meaning that they independently run their respective ministries in the framework of those directives… Read more › aims to provide support to business and academia with the development and implementation of “Industry 4.0”, with the aim of po­sitioning Germany as a leading provider of these technologies. What makes Industry 4.0 different is how products are highly individualised within production systems and environments that are digital and very flexible. Industry 4.0 has been around in many factor­ies for some time now, where intelligent monitoring and decision-making processes guide and optimise businesses and entire value creation networks in near real-time. This fundamental transition of production procedures and working processes requires workers with high levels of qualifications who can act independently and autonomously where necessary. Germany’s unique system of dual vocational training Vocational training Dual vocational training is quite unique internationally. After leaving school, many young people follow one of more than 300 state-recognised apprenticeship training programmes under the dual system. This entry into professional life differs from vocational training based only in colleges such as… Read more › and a rigorous strategy for ongoing professional development in the workplace are laying the groundwork for this transition.

Germany is considered the innovation champion of Europe. German businesses submitted around 26,000 applications to the European Patent Office in Munich in 2021 alone. In the same year, 58,600 inventions were registered with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA). Bosch, a supplier to the automotive industry, submitted the most applications, at just under 4,000. BMW were second with 1,860, followed by the Schaeffler-Group (1,800), also from the automotive industry. Precisely 134,715 German patents were in force in 2021.