Unternehmen & Trends - Ausgabe 1/2018

Being active in networks and on platforms is common courtesy these days. System- atically connecting with other people is a huge priority now, in both the profession- al and personal spheres. This might mean face-to-face meetings, but there is also an increasing trend to connect digitally. “The more contacts, the better” is a common view – people have hundreds of numbers in their contact list and thousands of ‘friends’ on social media. But are social networks really a place for sharing, or just for transmitting information? Sharing is not as easy as it sounds, especial- ly with regard to valuable commodities such as expertise and thus an advantage in a cer- tain field. Members of a network or commu- nity are then quick to disappear. After all, we live in a knowledge society. Knowledge is power – and ultimately means added value. But there is another way. Sharing expertise can enhance one’s own knowledge, too. But how? Learn to share and you will be rewarded One tried-and-tested method popular in, but not exclusive to, mechanical and plant en- gineering is cooperative industrial research (IGF), which receives funding from the Fed- eral Ministry for Economic Affairs and Ener- gy and from industry itself. Multiple compa- nies and research institutions come together in a pre-competitive environment and work together on a specific topic or technological challenge. Everyone involved is then free to use the results for further development as they wish. IGF thus gives medium-sized companies in particular access to practical research, thus making them more competitive. The figures show how the IGF mechanism can turn comparably small sums into big results: In 2017, the AiF’s (Federation of Industrial Re- search Associations) total budget of 171,7 million euros was contributed by around 100 research associations, representing around 50,000 companies. IGF is therefore effective, efficient and helps to build networks. On the value of sharing By Bernard Rensinghoff, Research Association for Drive Technology FVA (Forschungsvereinigung Antriebstechnik e.V.) Cooperative industrial research enables expertise to be shared profitably. The German Research Association for Drive Technology FVA (Forschungsvereinigung Antriebstechnik) has been proving this for the past 50 years. 70  Unternehmen & Trends Image: © Center for Wind Power Drives (CWD) der RWTH Aachen Image: © ZF Friedrichshafen AG How FVA members benefit ›  Only expert network of its kind in the world ›  Shared fundamental research within IGF ›  Fastest possible transfer of research findings into practice at member companies in the form of congresses, seminars and software ›  Significantly shorter time to market ›  Training of tailored specialists for the industry ›  Advanced training for specialist staff in the industry based on the latest research ›  Knowledge and tools for the development of efficient, resource-saving drive technologies ›  Development of national and international standards ›  Promotion of universities and research insti- tutions to become international beacons of science ›  Matchmaking between industry and science