Completed research projects
NIL – Network of innovative learning factories
The project "Network of innovative Learning Factories (NIL)" emerged from the Initiative on European Learning Factories in 2013 and was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Ministry of Education and Research with almost 800,000 EUR between 2013 and 2016. The aim of the project was to promote the exchange of students and scientists, to simplify the transfer of knowledge between the participating institutions and to intensify the scientific further development of the learning factory system.
The Network of Innovative Learning Factories is not a closed system, but is open for partnerships to interested institutions to achieve its strategic goals. The NIL project consortium consists of partners who receive funding from the DAAD and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The cooperation of internationally leading universities and institutions as well as the interplay of research and teaching in terms of content through a permanent international exchange in the above-mentioned research fields enable students to gain a comprehensive insight into systems of production, logistics and manufacturing in a real as well as virtual multinational environment. Researchers have the opportunity to integrate different research fields and to work on them specifically. Teachers have access to a new spectrum of teaching methods and their direct application.
The network partners also benefit from the exchange about the "learning factory system" itself and jointly find answers to the question of what further optimisation opportunities are available here. They use state-of-the-art learning factories and laboratories that enable location-independent communication and joint planning, construction, design, modelling and organisation across several locations.
Partners and Associated Partners
The partners of the thematic network NIL with their internationally renowned scientists have set themselves the strategic goal of establishing the network thematically, setting an internationally recognised standard, supporting international mobility, establishing innovative training programmes as well as making a significant contribution to the worldwide quality assurance of learning factories.
| ESB Business School Reutlingen University Prof. Dr.-Ing. Vera Hummel, Prof. Dr. -Ing. Harald Augustin Learning Factory: Logistics Learning Factory | Institute of Production Management, Technology and Machine Tools (PTW) Technical University Darmstadt Prof. Dr. -Ing. Eberhard Abele, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Metternich Learning Factory: Process Learning Factory CiP |
| TUM School of Engineering and Design (iwb) Technical University Munich Prof. Dr. -Ing. Gunther Reinhart Learning Factory for Energy Productivity (LEP) | Institute of Management Science (imw) Univ.-Prof. Prof. eh. Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Wilfried Sihn |
| Institute for Production Engineering and Laser Technology (IFT) Technical University Vienna, Austria Prof. Friedrich Bleicher Learning Factory: Learning and Innovation Factory | KTH Stockholm Prof. Bengt Lindberg, Dr. Thomas Lundholm Learning Factory: XPRESS lab |
| The Computer and Automation Research Institute MTA SZTAKI in Kooperation with Budapest University of Technology and Economics Ungarn Prof. Laszlo Monostori | School of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture University of Split, Croatia Prof. Ivica Veža Learning Factory: Lean Manufacturing |
| Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems & Automation University of Patras, Greece Prof. George Chryssolouris Learning Factory: LMS | Chair of Production Systems Systems / Ruhr University Bochum Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst Meier Learning Factory: LPS |
Industrial Engineering Departement Since the foundation of the NIL, the following institutes could be won as associated partners for the exchange of experiences and for the validation and dissemination of results. | Polytechnics Institute of Setúbal IPS School of Technology Portugal Prof. Pedro Cunha Learning Factory: CENI Learning Factory |
Activities in the network
Conferences
07.05.2013: 3rd Conference on Learning Factories in München, Deutschland, Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology/TU München
28.05.2014: 4th Conference on Learning Factories in Stockholm, Schweden, KTH Stockholm
07.07.2015-08.07.2015: 5th Conference on Learning Factories in Bochum, Deutschland, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Chair for Production Systems
23.08.2015-29.08.2015: CIRP GENERAL ASSEMBLY Conference in Cape Town, South Africa
29.06.2016-30.06.2016: 6th Conference on Learning Factories at Gjøvik University College and at SINTEF Raufoss Manufacturing, Gjøvik , Norway
Strategy Meetings
07.05-2013-08.05.2013: Strategic Meeting in Munich, Germany,TU Munich, Institute iwb
07.10.2014-08.10.2014: Strategic Meeting in Reutlingen, Germany, Reutlingen University, ESB Business School
26.05.2014: Strategic Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, KTH Stockholm
27.05.2014: Meeting "European Initiative on Learning Factories" in Stockholm, Sweden, KTH Stockholm
07.07.2015: Meeting "European Initiative on Learning Factories" in Stockholm, Schweden, KTH Stockholm
02.12.2015-03.12.2015: Strategic Meeting in Vienna, Austria
Workshops
08.10.2013-11.10.13: Reutlingen, Germany, Reutlingen University, ESB Business School
05.12.2013: Darmstadt, Germany, TU Darmstadt
25.03.2014-28.03.2014: Reutlingen, Germany, Reutlingen University, ESB Business School
11.06.2014-13.06.2014: Split, Croatia, University of Split
26.05.2015-31.05.2015: Split, Croatia, University of Split
19.07.2015-23.07.2015: Patras, Greece, at the University of Patras
