The Freiburg Academy of Science and Technology (FAST) opens up new perspectives for companies and individuals – not just for continuing education but also for research and development as well as knowledge and technology transfer.

The content of a grab bag is not visible from the outside, but it contains a surprise. FAST – the Freiburg Academy of Science and Technology – is similar to a grab bag in that you don’t know what awaits you before you open it, but you can be sure that the content will be tailored to your needs – like a custom-made suit. FAST aims to open up research conducted at the university and the Fraunhofer institutes in Freiburg for the practical demands of companies and individuals in further training and continuing education and forge links between business and research.

FAST is looking for companies and individuals with or without an academic degree who work in the areas of applied technology, natural sciences, and life sciences. The academy helps interested companies and individuals put together a tailor-made program and puts them in contact with the appropriate actors at the university or a Fraunhofer institute. This opens up a wide range of possibilities.

Technical specialists at a medical equipment company, for instance, can observe their own products in daily use and make them more user-friendly and efficient on the basis of this experience. A person from a different professional background who needs skills in the natural sciences and a sufficient grasp of specialist terms for his new job, to take another example, can take courses at the university that teach this knowledge. Finally, a manager interested in launching a development project can conduct a feasibility study with researchers at the university first in order to lower the business risk and better estimate the costs of such a project. These three cases call for three completely different solutions, but all of them are devoted to the guiding principle “learning by conducting research together.”

Since FAST is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the European Social Fund, participation is free of charge. Future plans include offering participants in the program the possibility to earn a final certificate with ECTS credits alongside a full-time job.

Incidentally, this grab bag has enjoyed great success since its introduction, and the idea has been emulated by numerous other universities.

FAST is holding an evening reception on Thursday, 16 April 2015, at 5 p.m. to present opportunities for cooperation between business and research. All interested persons are invited to meet the FAST team over drinks and a buffet, learn more about already established partnerships, make new contacts, and develop new ideas.

Contact and registration for the FAST evening reception on 16 April 2015:

Prof. Dr. Ingo Krossing
krossing@uni-freiburg.de

Damaris Jankowski, biologist
jankowski@fast.uni-freiburg.de

Jochen Ehrenreich, economist
ehrenreich@fast.uni-freiburg.de
Phone: 0761/203-67450

http://www.fast.uni-freiburg.de/aktuelles/anmeldung/