“Sometimes, just for fun, I call myself an industrial engineer-computer scientist,” says Dennis Kolberg. Ever since he was a child, the now doctorate engineer has been fascinated by technology, especially IT and software development. His path should allow him to get to know the basics of business through an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. “During my master’s degree at the University of Bremen, I used an ERASMUS degree in Finland to learn something new and did a master’s degree in computer science.”
Climbed every rung of the career ladder
Prof. Dennis Kolberg has also filled the gaps between the rungs of his career ladder in other respects as well. Already during his studies he became self-employed as a management consultant and advised well-known companies on IT projects. The knowledge he had gained during his studies in cyber-physical systems – i.e. the composition of IT and software components with mechanical and electronic parts – and the Internet of Things (IoT) was useful for this.
At the end of my studies, it was clear to me that with the digitalization of industry, something big was coming, but the right jobs in the economy weren’t there yet.”
Doctorate at one of the founding sites of Industry 4.0
At the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and Kolberg found the answer in the SmartFactory KL in Kaiserslautern. He did his doctorate in one of the founding sites of Industry 4.0 in automation technology. Not only was the name coined in Kaiserslautern, but the first Industry 4.0 prototypes were also realized. “I actually worked on one of the first systems that we exhibited at the Hanover Fair and used to explain Industry 4.0 to visitors. Today it is almost taken for granted.” In his doctoral thesis at the University of Kaiserslautern he dealt with precisely this digitization in production, especially in lean production. As scientific director of the research area, he was not only responsible for the research portfolio, but also had the opportunity to help shape the research landscape around Industry 4.0 at European level.
More than 10 years of digitization experience from consulting and startups
In addition to his doctorate, Kolberg has already advised well-known companies from the automotive, food and chemical industries on the introduction of Industry 4.0. The subsequent step as Senior Manager for Industry 4.0 and digitization in the field of factory planning and operational excellence at a Hamburg management consultancy was therefore obvious. In addition, Dennis Kolberg, together with two co-founders, founded a software start-up with a focus on data management for production plants, in which he took on the role of Chief Technology Officer and set up the software development. Most recently, Kolberg was part of the management team and responsible for product management at DIGIMONDO, a young software company in Hamburg. “The IoT platform we offer was not only one of the first to introduce the digital twin in IoT, but is now one of the leading platforms in the energy industry,” says Kolberg, summing up his time there.
motivation for teaching
In addition, Kolberg gained further teaching experience as a guest lecturer at the NORDAKADEMIE in the field of digitization of industrial value chains. At the Department of mechanical engineering and economics Dr.-Ing Dennis Kolberg now takes over the professorship for industrial engineering. He wants to pass on his many years of experience in the field of digitization to his students: “If, like me, you have learned Industry 4.0 from scratch, you not only get what is written on the marketing documents, but you have also experienced the spirit. And as an industrial engineer, you are predestined to manage the balancing act between the thematic disciplines.” He would also like to support students from non-academic families in particular, as he knows from his own experience how difficult the path is for them.