Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Automotive and Mechanical Engineering
How Innovations are Transferred from Research to Industrial Practice
Stuttgart (GER), October 2026 - Artificial intelligence, digital twins, and software-defined vehicles are opening up new opportunities for manufacturing and mobility. For companies, the key question is how technologies can be quickly put into practical use. At the 2026 Transformation Summit, representatives from business, academia, and innovation networks outlined specific paths toward this goal. At the invitation of the InnovationCampus Future Mobility (ICM) and the CARS 2.0 Transformation Network – coordinated by the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation (WRS) – more than 300 participants discussed new knowledge transfer formats, digital production solutions, and international technology partnerships.
"Small and medium-sized businesses in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors need easy access to new technologies, research findings, and the right partners in order to navigate technological change," explains Michael Kaiser, managing director of WRS. "Access to scientific support, in particular, is something that smaller companies often struggle with. This is where the Transformation Summit comes in. Company representatives can engage in dialogue with scientists on an equal footing and work together to tackle challenges."
"We want excellent, interdisciplinary research to lead to future technologies that have a lasting impact on society and the economy," emphasizes Prof. Manfred Bischoff, Vice Rector for Research and Sustainable Development at the University of Stuttgart. "Baden-Württemberg offers excellent conditions for this. It is crucial that we integrate the expertise from research, industry, and our innovation ecosystem even more closely. The Transformation Summit provides the space for that."
The summit allows companies to bring their own research questions directly into the research process, learn about new technological approaches, find international partners, and establish useful networks with scientific institutions and innovation partners.
About the ICM and CARS2.0
The InnovationCampus Future Mobility (ICM) is the joint research platform of the University of Stuttgart and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for mobility and production, and is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and Arts.
The CARS2.0 joint project is coordinated by the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation (WRS), implemented in collaboration with the Bildungswerk der Baden-Württembergischen Wirtschaft e. V., the Stuttgart Region Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and IG Metall Baden-Württemberg, and funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
The networking event with Canadian companies was organized in collaboration with the National Research Council Canada (NRC) and with support from e-mobil BW GmbH.