External Collaborations

RESEARCHING TOGETHER. SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER.

Research that does not reach practical application remains incomplete. This is our guiding principle at ITPE. We develop scientific methods and insights — and apply them together with industry partners to real-world challenges. For this, we need partners who share the same ambition.

We therefore actively seek collaboration with companies, institutes, and professional associations that are willing to jointly develop new insights and bring them into practical application across all our research areas.

What could such a collaboration look like?There are many ways to collaborate with the Institute for Technical Product Development (ITPE):

  • Joint supervision of interns (we assist in selecting suitable individuals and topics)
  • Joint supervision of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral thesis (we are happy to suggest suitable individuals and assist in defining suitable topics)
  • Supervision of external doctoral candidates within the framework of cooperation and research projects
  • Supervision of research assistants in third-party funded projects, funded by public funding bodies, with industrial participation if applicable
  • Supervision of research assistants in third-party funded projects, funded by industrial partners


Are you interested?

Every collaboration begins with an idea and an initial exchange. Get in touch with us — together we will find the right format for cooperation.

You are welcome to contact us without obligation at: produktentwicklung@unibw.de

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

 

Participants wanted: Study on Product Development under Heightened Security Conditions

Contribute to current research and gain access to the latest insights from your industry!

Background

Since the geopolitical shift (“Zeitenwende”), the development environment in the defense industry has changed significantly. Increasing requirements, shorter reaction times, and growing complexity in system development present engineers, project managers, and executives with new challenges — and raise a central question: Which development methodologies remain viable under these conditions?

From 2018 to 2023, the ITPE published an annual study series on agility in industry, which has become a well-established reference for the state of agile development methods in the German-speaking economy (links provided below this section). This proven format is now being specifically adapted by ITPE to the particular characteristics of the defense industry.

 

What We Investigate – and How You Can Contribute

The study is currently under development. Topics and focal areas are defined in close collaboration with industry partners — because only in this way can a study address relevant questions and provide practically useful insights. Your input is explicitly welcome, preferably via email at: produktentwicklung@unibw.de

Current focus areas include (subject to change):

  • Managing change dynamics - How do development processes respond to changing requirements?
  • Acceleration of development cycles - Which models enable faster time-to-market?
  • Usage of agile methods - Where and how are agile practices applied in defense development?
  • Organizational transformation - How do company structures evolve when transitioning from Engineering-to-Order to Make-to-Order?

 

We Need Your Support

This study is not a finished product — it will only succeed if practitioners from the defense industry are willing to contribute their experiences. We are looking for engineers, project managers, and executives from the defense industry who are willing to share their perspectives. The study will be conducted in the form of interviews lasting approximately 45 minutes. No technical details, financial data, or confidential information will be requested — the focus is exclusively on the approach to product development. All data processing takes place within the network of the University of the Bundeswehr and in compliance with GDPR regulations.

Every conversation counts. The more voices from industry are included, the more meaningful — and therefore more valuable for all participants — the study will become.

 

What You Gain

  • Access to the study results - Anonymized and free of charge for all participants
  • Scientific benchmarking - Your organization can compare in practices with the current state of the industry
  • Further collaborative opportunities - Individual research questions can be explored jointly based on the study findings

Interested or have questions? Contact us at: produktentwicklung@unibw.de

Additional Information About the Study

Empirical studies on agile hardware development

Empirical studies on agile hardware development
Research focus: Strategy and Organization

Research focus: Strategy and Organization

Knowledge Transfer into Practice

As an additional form of cooperation, we offer targeted knowledge transfer from the institute to industry — through customized training sessions, workshops, and lectures on our research topics.

Together with you, we develop the appropriate format and content:

  • Workshops – structured knowledge building on methodological foundations and current research topics

  • Training sessions – practice-oriented deepening with direct application relevance for your teams

  • Lectures – concise impulses on specific topic areas, e.g., for internal events or professional conferences

Interested or have questions? Contact us at: produktentwicklung@unibw.de