Four years ago, the Center for Digital Transformation was launched as part of the TUM Campus Heilbronn. A lot has happened since then.
Added Value for the Region
Four years ago, the Center for Digital Transformation was launched as part of the TUM Campus Heilbronn. A lot has happened since then.
When founding a startup, the most important thing is to create clear added value with the idea. After all, if there is sufficient demand, the signs are good that the young company will develop successfully in the long term.
The Center for Digital Transformation (CDT) of TUM School of Management, which celebrated its third anniversary at TUM Campus Heilbronn in the summer of 2022, has grown according to this principle. The team, led by former CDT Director Prof. Gudrun P. Kiesmüller, researches issues surrounding digital transformation, and its challenges and opportunities. From the very beginning, the goal of the center’s six professorships has been to develop scientific solutions and thus generate direct benefits for business and society. The new findings also flow directly into teaching. This, in turn, has a major impact on the region, as students carry their know-how into companies as specialists and managers. A successful model that has proven itself and still has a lot of potential, given the young history of the campus.
Interface between Business and Research
In the meantime, the first master’s graduates have completed their studies at TUM Campus Heilbronn. “The city has gained an important educational factor with the center,” emphasizes Prof. Kiesmüller. In addition, the CDT has become an important interface between companies in the region and research.
We want to build a bridge between the companies in the region and the findings of research.
And the challenges are many. Shortly after the opening of the CDT, the emerging COVID-19 pandemic became a historic turning point – for companies as well as for research. That is why the potential for the best possible collaboration is currently being explored, says Prof. Kiesmüller. The goal here is to actively collaborate on projects with companies from the region. The talks held so far have already revealed a lot of potential. In addition, the researchers at the CDT are conducting a survey on supply chain issues, spare parts logistics, and digital transformation with the Supply Chain Monitor Heilbronn-Franken to identify the challenges and trends that particularly affect companies in the region.
Center Promotes Knowledge Transfer and Networking
With its work, the Center for Digital Transformation provides the optimal framework. It is based on fundamental and application-based research that is constantly being developed through close collaboration with partners on campus and renowned partner universities.
For Prof. Kiesmüller, one thing is certain: “Knowledge transfer is very important to us.” That’s why the CDT regularly hosts workshops with leading scientists and also networking events with companies. One example is the Supply Chain Finance Hub, which was held for the fourth time in October 2022 as a virtual event with high-profile panelists led by Prof. David Wuttke. Most recently with 200 participants, including managers and executives from companies and banks as well as researchers and students from 25 countries.
But participation in external events in the region is also an important component of this knowledge transfer. StartupCity meets Experts is, without a doubt, one of these important events. Here, Martin Meißner, member of the CDT and Professor of Digital Marketing at TUM Campus Heilbronn, among others, gave interesting insights into his research on the topic of “eye tracking” last year.
Quo Vadis, CDT?
Under the motto “For the Digital Age,” TUM Campus Heilbronn continues to push ahead with its expansion. “With the addition of the professorships TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology (CIT) and the Data Science Center, we will also be working more closely with computer scientists in the future,” says Prof. Kiesmüller. “This opens up completely new possibilities for us, for example with regard to the fields of data science and artificial intelligence.” One of the next steps will be to build a comprehensive network with companies in the Heilbronn-Franconia region. “Our research offers a great deal of added value that we want to make available to companies in order to jointly master the challenges of digital transformation,” she adds.
One current project at the CDT, for example, deals with the topic of natural language processing. Here, a team led by Prof. Sebastian Müller, Professor of Finance and new CDT Director, is using methods that, with the help of machine learning, are able to automatically take into account the semantics and context of a text. This may one day make it possible for companies to identify relevant competitors simply by comparing annual reports or their websites.
Facts and figures on CDT
Three main research areas
- Impact of digital technologies on companies and the economy
- Digital platforms
- Data-driven decision making
Six professorships
24 Ph.D. students (55% international, 45% female)
Collaborations with renowned universities worldwide, such as ETH Zurich (Switzerland), HEC Paris (France), University College London (UK), TU Eindhoven (Netherlands), and Lund University (Sweden)