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The Department of Mechanical Engineering is part of KIT's Area 3 "Mechanical and Electrical Engineering" together with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, four Helmholtz programs, and eight institutes of the large-scale research area. The department consists of more than 20 institutes with about 1,000 employees, including about 40 professors, 460 scientific employees, and 200 employees in administration and technology. In addition, there are several hundred tutors and scientific assistants.
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is part of the new NXTGN Startup Factory - a federally funded platform for technology-driven start-ups. Together with universities and companies from Baden-Württemberg, KIT wants to trigger a new wave of start-ups as the strongest partner in the initiative. The aim is to translate research results into marketable products more quickly and create over 10,000 new jobs by 2030. The federal government and industry are supporting the Startup Factory with up to 20 million euros.
The German Research Foundation (DFG) has presented data on subject participation in the 70 Clusters of Excellence of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. As the Excellence Commission decided in mid-May, 45 projects already receiving funding will be continued in the second round of the competition from 2026 and 25 new clusters will be funded. In the format of a data story (www.dfg.de/datastory/exstra-faechervielfalt), which is being used for the first time, the DFG is now publishing the results of analyses that show which subjects participate in these 70 clusters and how they interact to shape the interdisciplinary research profile of the clusters. One of the key findings is that the subject profile of the clusters largely corresponds to that of current DFG funding. Press release
For the first time this year, the celebrations for the academic year 2024/2025 of the two departments of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Information Technology took place at the same location. The Mechanical Engineering Day with its two parts "Bachelor presentation" and "Department Colloquium" was held for the first time with the "Department Day" of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology in the Audimax. Certificates were presented, honors were bestowed and prizes were awarded in a festive setting. We would like to congratulate all graduates and prize winners.
Researchers at KIT want to create the conditions for successful nuclear fusion. Fusion research could make the unfulfilled promises of nuclear power come true in the future: almost unlimited energy, safe, economical, and without millennia of radioactive waste. KIT scientists are researching numerous subprocesses that are crucial for the success of this endeavor – and are among the world's leading researchers. Researchers around the world are working to replicate the process that generates energy in the sun: nuclear fusion. When light atoms fuse to form heavier atoms, energy is released that keeps stars shining for billions of years. "The most promising fuel is hydrogen atoms fused to form helium," says Prof. Christoph Kirchlechner, head of the IAM – Materials and Interface Mechanics and the Fusion Program at KIT. Read the complete KIT news
The DAAD provides funding for students and university staff to spend time abroad. The National Agency for Erasmus+ University Cooperation within the German Academic Exchange Service (NA DAAD) reports that German universities will receive around 205 million euros in the "Mobility of Individuals" funding line over the next two years - an increase of 21 million euros compared to the previous year. The budget is to be used by all types of higher education institutions for stays abroad by students and university staff.
The focus is on funding stays in the 33 Erasmus+ program countries. Universities may also use up to 20% of the funds for worldwide mobility outside of these countries.
With the Department Teaching Awards, the KIT Presidential Board honors individuals, working groups or organizational units of the KIT Departments responsible for teaching whose courses are characterized in particular by research- and application-oriented teaching modules as well as new forms of teaching and learning, interdisciplinarity or high topicality of the specialist knowledge imparted.
This year's Department Award for Mechanical Engineering goes to Dr.-Ing. Wilfried Liebig from the Institute for Applied Materials. Students particularly appreciate his innovative concepts, multimedia use and practical relevance in laboratories, workshops and excursions.
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