Ege University, the fourth founded university of Turkey, is established in accordance with the law No. 6595 issued on May 20th, 1955 and began its educational life on November 5th,

1955. The first two faculties of Ege University are Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Agriculture, which were founded in 1955. School of Nursing was also established within the same academic year. Ege University, having completed its entire establishment in a span of 20 years, added new faculties, institutions, and schools to its academic units in different dates. In 1982, the bisection of Ege University facilitated the foundation of Dokuz Eylül University with the handover of many pre-established faculties and graduate schools. 

By the year 2018, Ege University includes 15 Faculties, 9 Institutes, 5 Graduate Schools, 1 State Conservatory of Turkish Music, 10 Vocational Schools, 6 Rectorate Units, 35 Application and Research Centers. 

By the academic year 2019-2020, Ege University hosts a total number of 65.587 students, 55.875 of which are undergraduate and associate degree students, and 9.712 are postgraduate students. The university has 3125 academic staff and 6.879 administrative staff.

Ege University, being one of the country’s leading scientific institutions, has a strong research infrastructure especially with its accredited Research and Application Center of Drug Development and Pharmokinetics, Environment and Food Analysis Laboratory (ARGEFAR), Petroleum Analysis Laboratory (EGEPAL), EGEMATAL (Application and Research Center of Central Research Test and Analysis) FABAL (Pharmaceutics Research Laboratory), BESTMER (Biological Energy Systems and Technology Center), Ege University Research and Application Center of Textile and Apparel Manufacturing (TEKAUM) and a total of 785 laboratories within the faculties, graduate schools, institutes, research and application centers to aid educational and research activities within, and Ege Teknopark Technology Development Zone and nüvEge Incubation Center. nationally funded projects since 2002, 46 Patents and Utility Models granted by Turkish Patent Institute.

With the importance given for PLM studies, Ege Uni. organized a PLM workshop in November 14-15, 2014 with the participation of German and Turkish academics and students. Afterwards first PLM Research and Application Excellence Center of Turkey was established at Ege Uni. in April 3, 2015.

Furthermore, PLM Master Degree training started under Ege Uni. Graduate School of Natural and Applied Science in 2017. An Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership project entitled “Raising Awareness on Product Lifecycle Management via Education and Industrial Strategic Collaboration within Europe (RAPROMISE)” directed by Ege Uni., and was completed in 2018. 

The Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (TUK) is a medium sized university founded in 1970 and hosts departments of natural sciences, engineering, and social sciences. It has about 14,000 students from nations world-wide, approx. 4000 of whom are remote study students. The university has received excellence awards for developing teaching concepts, concepts of work-family-life-balance, and is scientifically recognized as center of prestigious coordinated research consortia . TUK is a part of a dynamically evolving alliance of universities at the border between France, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Germany (Universität der Großregion, UniGR) cooperating in research, teaching, and development. The university conducts a number of international collaborations, successfully participated in projects funded under several EU Framework Programs and has gathered comprehensive experience both as coordinator and partner in research networks and projects. Besides projects with national funding, TUK is also very active in the field of international research. In this context, the funding instruments available in the EU Framework Programmes play an important role. TUK is partner or coordinator to 11 projects (as of 01/2020) conducted under Horizon 2020. Four further individual projects funded by ERC are being also co-ordinated by researchers at TUK. The numerous individual fellowship grants and career integration

grants won from Marie Curie prove the focus that the university places on the support for and career promotion of young scientists. TUK has been well established, and provided good service as the host institution for young and experienced scientists alike.

TUK continuously and  successfully participated in individual and coordinated research and  training programs funded by DFG(Graduiertenkollegs,Sonderforschungsbereiche, Schwerpunkt-programme, Forschergruppen), EU and partners from industry etc. TUK was partner in 8 and coordinated further 4 Research or Initial Training Networks during FP 5, FP6, FP 7 or Horizon 2020 and is currently partner in two Innovative Training Networks (ITN-ETN) and one European Master programme (Erasmus+). Additionally, TUK co-ordinates the ITN-ETN Re-CITY (GA-No. 813803, start 10/2018) and the European Master in Embedded Computing Systems (Erasmus+).

 

Technische Universitaet Wien (TU Wien) was founded in 1815 and is located in the heart of Vienna. It is the largest technical university in Austria with about 30.000 students. About 3.700 out of 4.800 employees are scientific staff. The annually budget consists of about 260 Mio € public funding plus about 90 Mio € project and third party funding. The faculty of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering has about 900 beginners each year and offers a wide range of engineering majors within the three main curricula mechanical engineering, engineering management and plant engineering (both bachelor and consecutive master). For the project proposal at hand, the Institute of Engineering Design and Product Development is taking the lead role for the involvement of TU Wien. The institute has an internationally recognized expertise in a wide range of product development, from the

methodological side (design methodology, eco-design) over the core application areas of machine elements up to the level of IT support in terms of CAD (Computer Aided Design and Engineering), Virtual Product Development, and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) in research and teaching. This includes methodological aspects (systems engineering, design methodology, integrated product development) as well as tool aspects for 3D modelling, design automation, knowledge based engineering, and product information management. The Institute has got an extensive hardware and software equipment in the relevant field. The Virtual Product Development Lab consists of more than 100 High-End Graphic workstations equipped with all major PLM and CAx applications, a wide range of peripherals, e.g. a VR powerwall, large format plotter, 3D printers for rapid prototyping, and a virtualised server infrastructure for hosting various PLM systems and other industrial IT applications.

The institute is involved in many research projects with public funding on both national and European Level (H2020). With respect to the topic education in engineering design, the involved research group has carried out three nationally funded projects together with 6 vocational schools in Austria as partners. The aim of the first project was to establish a central PLM solution for all partner schools in order to establish up to date management capabilities for the involved schools. In the subsequent project, the solution was adapted to provide a basis for school spanning projects and especially enhance functions for eco-design and life cycle assessment (LCA). In the last and recently finished project, systems engineering (SE) approaches were introduced within the engineering design courses of the vocational partner schools and required PLM system integration of special SE tools is implemented.

Furthermore, the institute is currently involved in the two ERASMUS+ Key Action 2 “Strategic Partnership” projects CASPROD (Capitals of Smart Product Development) and ELPID (Elearning Platform for Innovative Product Development). 

One particular focus of this project is to integrate smart product engineering and smart production from both, a research point of view as well as an educational point of view in terms of special skill development and transfer of students and also engineer-ing professionals. The latter aspect was also especially targeted with the national funded project “Digital Transformation 4.0” (http://www.digitrans.at/), which ended in November 2018 and will be transferred to a permanent offer by TU Wien.

Founded in 1965, Ruhr University Bochum is a place for innovative research, teaching and transfer. Located in the heart of Europe in the dynamic metropolitan region of the Ruhr,

Ruhr-Universität Bochum with its 20 faculties is home to 43,000 students from over 120 countries who study in some 190 Bachelor and Master programmes. As a comprehensive campus university, it unites the arts, humanities,social sciences, natural sciences, engineering and medicine.

RUB was one of the first universities in Germany to introduce international bachelor's and master's degrees, which replaced the traditional German Diplom and Magister. Currently, the university offers a total of more than 180 different study programs (18 Double and/or Joint Degree) from all academic fields represented at the university.

Its scope is unique in Germany: research at Ruhr University Bochum is the most wide-ranging of any university in Germany. With its concept of excellent collaborative as well as individual research, Ruhr University is one of the highest performing universities in Germany. Under the Excellence Initiative and the Excellence Strategy, national competitions to promote world-class research, it achieved notable success with its university-wide Research School and two Clusters of Excellence: RESOLV (‘Ruhr Explores Solvation’). The objective of the cluster is to develop solvation research as a new research discipline and provide the community with valuable knowledge for future applications.

In 2007, RUB joined forces with its neighbouring universities in Dortmund and Duisburg-Essen, to form the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr) - now one of the largest and most productive scientific associations in Germany. Joint UA Ruhr Liaison Offices in New York, Moscow and São Paulo further promote RUB’s international cooperation and student and scholarly exchanges.

The Ruhr Area is not only Germany’s largest academic hub, but also an epicenter of innovation that fosters close interaction between academia and the private sector, and RUB provides students and researchers from around the world with an open gateway to the region. At RUB´s technology campus, a unique ecosystem related to Engineering 4.0 and Cyber Security has evolved. It comprises the Centre for the Engineering of Smart Product Service Systems, a smart Learning Lab, the IT security incubator Cube 5, the Center for Advanced Internet Studies and the upcoming Max Planck Institute for Cyber Security and Privacy, to name but a few. 

Embedded in a powerful industrial areas with a long tradition, the Department of Mechanical Engineering focusses on providing new,  innovative ideas, insights and concepts to the competitiveness of the Nort Rhine-Westphalian and German plant engineering and machinery industry to improve and contribute to the ongoing structural changes. 

Chair for Digital Engineering succeeding the Chair of Information Technology (IT) in Mechanical Engineering (ME) has been dealing with the topics of Virtual Product Development, Virtual/Augmented Reality, and Product Life Cycle Management in research and teaching since 1994 and even before. One of the first world-wide available 3D-CAD systems was developed at the institute in the 1980s.

The chair for IT in ME (the predecessor to the current Chair for Digital Engineering) has carried out numerous projects, publically funded as well as industry co-operations, in the field of PLM, virtual product development and engineering education in the recent past. The longest lasting cooperation project spanned over 20 years of consulting for engineering process management for an automotive supplier. 

In 2014 the chair renewed the existing laboratory for identification technologies with the founding of the Smart Data Center, in which students and scientific staff do research in the fields of Mixed Reality applications and Internet of Things technology. The funding was granted via the RUB’s central infrastructure program and resulted in many dozens of theses, studies and demonstration scenarios. A major cooperation revolves around our partners in the project “Excellent Teaching and Learning in Engineering”. Together with colleagues in the Virtualisation of Process Technology Group and the Chair of Applied Laser Technologies, the creation of virtual explorative learning environments for advanced undergraduate projects is currently being worked on. The chairs projects also benefit from the cooperation with the RUB’s central Centre for Teaching and Learning.

 

UPV is among the Spanish Universities with the highest revenue from competitive research (R&D contracts, consulting and service delivery, spin-off) and a national leader in patent exploitation. The university has three campuses, Vera, Alcoi and Gandia. The main one, Campus of Vera, has eleven schools and faculties as well as the doctoral School. The university has more than 40 bachelor’s degrees and more than seventy master’s degrees, mainly in technological disciplines.

UPV has participated in 129 FP7 actions and led 20 of them. In H2020, UPV is currently participating in more than 100 signed actions and leading 14 of them (November 2018), being also a partner in several major partnering initiatives (JTIs, PPPs, KICs, etc.). 

The mission statement of the Universitat Politècnica de València is to educate people in order to enhance their skills; researches and generates knowledge, with the assurance of quality, rigor and ethics, in the fields of science, technology, art and business, with the aim of furthering the integral development of society and contributing to its technical, economic and cultural progress.

The main areas of expertise are engineering disciplines (mechanical, aerospace, industrial, chemical, electrical, electronic and automation,  energy, etc.), civil engineering, agricultural engineering , architecture and fine arts.

The vision of the UPV is that, in 2020, it will be a modern, innovating and efficient institution, which is able to offer quality, structured training geared towards the necessities of society.

 

BMC Pınarbaşı Factory is designed with the flexibility to manufacture many commercial and defence industry vehicles with different configurations ranging from buses to trucks, and from armored vehicles protected against mines to tactical wheeled vehicles. All performance tests for the prototypes developed with superior engineering capabilities and advanced manufacturing technology are performed according to the international standards.

With its production capabilities, quality standards, and strong R&D and innovation capacity, Vestel is a market shaper not only in Turkey but also in global markets as well as Turkey’s image and pride with its technology exports to the world. Vestel operates in the areas listed below:

• electronics,

• household appliances,

• digital and mobile products.

Vestel is a global group of companies comprised of 26 companies in total,18 of which are located abroad. With its nearly 16,000 employees, production capacity built on advanced technology, and contribution to country’s exports, Vestel represents an important source of power for the Turkish economy. Vestel, which is one of the world’s leading ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) providers in consumer electronics and household appliances, is one of the three largest TV producers and among the top five white goods manufacturers in

Europe. A strong and wellknown brand domestically, Vestel is also the leader of the Turkish TV market and one of the top three players in the Turkish white goods market. Moreover, Vestel is among the ten most recognized brands in Turkey. Vestel’s manufacturing facilities are located in Manisa. Established over a 1.2 million m2 area in Manisa, Vestel City is one of Europe’s largest industrial manufacturing complexes operating in a single location. Vestel, a prominent  technology powerhouse in Turkey and globally, strives in full pace to complete its Industry 4.0 transformation and switch to fully automated smart factories. Apart from operating as an ODM provider in  international markets,

Vestel also carries out branded product sales through the wellknown regional brands acquired and the global brands held under the brand licensing agreements. Vestel’s partnerships with Sharp in white goods and Toshiba in TVs under brand licensing agreements will further strengthen its position in the European market. Vestel reaches a wide consumer base through the “multi-brand and multi-channel strategy” which it pursues in the domestic market and boasts one of Turkey’s most extensive sales and after-sales service networks. Vestel appeals to different consumer tastes in 155 countries with its wide range of products, which reflects its competencies in technology development, design and product customization.

Accounting for approximately 90% of Turkey’s exports in TVs and 30% in white goods, Vestel has been an unwavering export leader in the Turkish electronics sector for the past 21 years of the most important agenda items for industrial giants around the world is the adaptation to Industry 4.0. This transformation is essential for all companies operating in the manufacturing sector to maintain their competitive power. 

We are further strengthening our competencies in industrial design, innovative product development and software through our efforts and investments for the industry 4.0 transformation. Vestel elektronik has been undertaking exemplary efforts on a global basis for the industry 4.0 transformation for more than four years. The  implementation of TPM activities for years provides Vestel with an advantage in adapting to Industry 4.0.

R&D will always remain as our most distinct competitive advantage. Our well-versed R&D team of over 1,600 people and our R&D organization abroad will propel Vestel further. We are strengthening our competencies in industrial design, innovative product development and software with our efforts and investments for transition to Industry 4.0. The Industry 4.0 transformation is of vital importance for us to increase our competitiveness in the global arena and be ahead of our competitors.

Currently, all of our products, from white goods to TVs, have become smart. In the next phase, we are planning to provide complementary services along with our products in order to make the  lives of consumers easier and facilitate transition to a smart life. Our collaboration in white goods with Amazon, which is announced at the IFA, is the first concrete step towards this goal.