EANS-News: Nordex to fund an endowed chair in wind power engineering at the University of Rostock

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Research & Development

Hamburg (euro adhoc) - An endowed chair in wind power engineering is
to be established at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine
Technology of the University of Rostock and should be ready in time
for the autumn 2011 semester, with international applications being
invited for the position. The chair is being funded with an
endowment provided by wind turbine producer Nordex SE, which is one
of the largest employers in Rostock with staff numbering around
1,000. The endowed chair at the university will initially be
established for a period of five years and will be tied to a master´s
course, which could commence in the summer 2012 semester. The rector
of the University of Rostock, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schareck, is
personally overseeing the matter and, from the outset, has been
promoting the plans together with corporate sector sponsors from
Rostock Business, Wind Energy Network Rostock, of which 80 companies
are members, and the government ministries in Schwerin. "I am
grateful for Nordex´s dedication. We want to cover the demand for
good engineers in the regional economy ourselves and thus address the
shortage of qualified specialists," Schareck said. As well as this,
the new course will additionally reinforce the university´s
engineering faculties. Explaining the reasons for Nordex SE´s
decision to fund the endowed chair, the company´s CEO Thomas
Richterich said, "as one of the pioneers in the wind power industry,
Nordex is very keen to additionally extend its technological lead."
At the moment, it is giving priority to recruiting new engineers in
order to step up product development activities and to explore future
technologies. Rostock Business is also providing support. "With the
endowed chair, we have been able to create decisive added value for
the renewable energies cluster in Rostock," explained Christian Weiß,
who is also deputy chairman of Wind Energy Network Rostock. This
joint success will generate an echo going far beyond the state
borders, sharpening Rostock´s profile as a production site as well as
a center for the development of high-tech applications for use in the
technologies of the future. The idea to establish an endowed chair
and, related to this, a master´s course was first raised
one-and-a-half years ago by the Wind Energy Network Rostock
association. "We need graduates who hold a degree specifically of
relevance for this industry and who have received a grounding in
offshore wind power technology," said André Iffländer, the
association chairman. Wind Energy Network Rostock drew up a syllabus
for the course and submitted it to the University of Rostock, which
then modified it. The syllabus includes such subjects as grid
connection engineering. Iffländer has since taken the idea one step
further and considers part-time studies for people already in the
workforce to be extremely important. "We want to strengthen and
enhance wind power capabilities in Rostock," he said, adding that he
is very satisfied that Nordex has agreed to fund the endowed chair.
Like most of its peers in this industry, Nordex has sharply rising
demand for personnel in its technical departments. "Looking forward,
we want to do more to encourage the establishment of university
courses so that we are able to cover these requirements. In
individual cases, we also want to allow engineers already working for
us to attend university courses," explained Eberhard Voß, the chief
technical officer at Nordex. In selecting a suitable candidate for
the endowed chair, the university and Nordex together with Wind
Energy Network Rostock are attaching particular importance to an
application-oriented track record in research and teaching. "A
hands-on degree course will help graduates to find a job in industry
later on," said Voß, explaining what he considers to be the decisive
advantages of this endowed chair. What is more, the company is also
interested in establishing research partnerships with the holder of
the endowed chair, some of which can be executed at Nordex´s own
laboratories. Nordex is spending heavily on laboratory and testing
equipment so as to speed up the development of new turbines and to
enhance product quality. For example, it has been operating the
largest test stand for rotor blades in Germany for a number of months
now. Wind power enjoys high political prestige in the German state of
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. Says the state´s prime minister Erwin
Sellering: "I am pleased about this endowed chair. Renewable energies
offer one of the greatest opportunities for Mecklenburg-West
Pomerania for the future. We are already strong in this area but we
could be even better, particularly in research and development. In
addition, the endowed chair is important to cover skill needs in this
industry." Minister of science Henry Tesch agrees: "I am
extraordinarily happy about the initiative being taken by Nordex. The
endowed chair in wind power engineering and the course which students
will be offered in this area will strengthen the state´s position as
a renewable energies." The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the
University of Rostock is ideally equipped. "Areas of specialization
are pooled and made available in concentrated form via the 19 chairs
which are currently occupied," stressed the dean Prof. Dr. Egon
Hassel. "We welcomed and immediately accepted Nordex´s idea and took
all the steps necessary to ensure that the appointment process can be
completed with minimum delay." Nordex greatly appreciates the fact
that the region with the University of Rostock and the other research
institutes located in the city has established an excellent research
environment. "The new endowed chair will additionally enhance
Rostock´s appeal to us and our employees," said Eberhard Voß, chief
technical officer at Nordex.

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Nordex SE
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Ralf Peters
Head of Corporate Communication
Tel.: +49 (0)40 300 30 15 22
rpeters@nordex-online.com

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