Infineon launches "DIGI-Lab" at HTL Wolfsberg

With the Digitization Lab or so called "DIGI-Lab", Infineon is creating a forward-looking learning and teaching environment at the HTL Wolfsberg that will strengthen the educational and business location. It was officially opened today in the presence of distinguished guests.

With the "DIGI-Lab" at the HTL in Wolfsberg, Infineon has enabled a working, experimenting and learning laboratory in which digital technologies are combined with practical topics. Equipped with state-of-the-art robotics technology, 3D printers, digital chip kits or blockchain technologies, the young technical talents as well as their teachers have the opportunity to work on concrete issues from industry. The "DIGI-Lab" is being implemented as part of the Infineon "Smart Learning" initiative, which has already been running since 2019. With Industry 4.0, robotics, Internet of Things, energy technology, e-mobility and systems engineering, Infineon offers highly relevant topics to optimally prepare students for their future careers.

Training technology talents for the region and for Austria

"With the Infineon "DIGI-Lab", we connect the real with the digital world. In this way, we make new technologies for Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing tangible and create a learning environment that makes students fit for the future," said Sabine Herlitschka, CEO of Infineon Austria. "The students can grow here along with the latest technology, develop their skills and become real future shapers. It's challenging, exciting and really fun. The "DIGI-Lab" is thus an important contribution to an attractive education location as well as a strong business location. In this way, we are actively addressing the major challenges of digitization and the shortage of skilled workers in a very pragmatic way."

Margarete Schramböck, Federal Minister for Digitization and Economic Location: "Top trained specialists are a decisive success factor in international competition. Our HTLs are cadre for the technicians of tomorrow. The direct cooperation between Infineon and the HTLs gives students a valuable insight into everyday operations while they are still at school. Top trained personnel who can react quickly and competently to the growing demand for digital services and develop innovative solutions are the most important asset for the competitiveness of our country."

Peter Kaiser, Governor of the State of Carinthia, emphasizes the importance of digitalization for society as a whole: "Digitalization accompanies us every day - both professionally and privately. "It is an urgent task to create framework conditions to best prepare our education system and the education of young people in Carinthia for the new opportunities, for the new challenges, for the new job profiles! With Infineon, Carinthia not only has a leading international corporation that strengthens and highlights the business location. With Infineon, we also have a company that is willing to cooperate, that focuses on the training of young people, that recognizes trends, sets them and, above all, passes them on. With the Smart Learning concept and the DIGI Lab, we teach smart learning and teaching with digital technologies and link this with practical tasks. This makes an important contribution to preparing technical talent for the digital world of work. In this way, Carinthia gains additional attractiveness as a place to live, train and do business, and we thus signal that a great deal is being done in Carinthia to fulfill oneself and one's professional dreams."

Attractive educational location through cooperation

"With a high level of innovation, Carinthian schools can face the transformation of society," says  Isabella Penz, Director of Education for Carinthia. "The "DIGI-Lab" fulfills exactly this requirement. In order to strengthen Carinthia as a business location, successful cooperation between schools and business is needed. We therefore want to continue to work with all educational partners to ensure that our young people in Carinthia can face the challenges of the future with confidence."

For HTL Wolfsberg, the Infineon Innovation Lab is another milestone after the recent award "State Prize Innovative School" and the Europe Award for the "Best Vocational School". "We want to bring Industry 4.0 to life at school and strengthen entrepreneurial thinking and action," says  Jürgen Jantschgi, director of HTL Wolfsberg. "To do this, we also need state-of-the-art infrastructure, which is hardly possible without the support of companies. We are therefore very pleased to have Infineon as a partner who cooperates with us on many levels in the long term. This creates attractive job profiles spurs and motivates for technology."

Smart World - Smart Learning with Infineon

The "DIGI-Lab" is a future investment by Infineon as part of the  "Smart Learning" initiative. The five-year cooperation, launched by Infineon in 2019 and carried out jointly with the Education Directorate and all five Carinthian HTLs (Wolfsberg, Villach, Klagenfurt Mössinger- und Lastenstraße, and Ferlach), focuses on digital technologies and competencies with the linking of industrial tasks.

To this end, Infineon has set up a digital platform and provides content, training, hardware and software applications, and information materials. Schools can access this at any time and depending on their learning progress. Teachers also receive smart training: They can use the "Infineon School" events to network with experts from science and industry. This year's schedule includes "Infineon Exchange Days," thesis supervision, skill-sharing courses and participation in hackathons.

Further Links:

Go-Ahead for Carinthia’s first „Smart Learning Classes“ initiated by Infineon:  Schoolyear 19/20

Infineon „Smart Learning“ concept is growing:  Schoolyear 20/21

HTL Wolfsberg:    www.htl-wolfsberg.at

Bildungsdirektion Kärnten  www.bildung-ktn.gv.at

Federal Ministry Republic of Austria  :  Digital and Economic Affairs

Infineon Technologies Austria AG is a group subsidiary of Infineon Technologies AG, a world-leading provider of semiconductor solutions that make life easier, safer and greener. Microelectronics from Infineon reduce the energy consumption of consumer electronics, domestic appliances and industrial facilities. They make a major contribution to the convenience, security and sustainability of vehicles, and enable secure transactions in the Internet of Things.

Infineon Austria pools competencies for research and development, production as well as global business responsibility. The head office is in Villach, with further branches in Graz, Klagenfurt, Linz and Vienna. With 4,517 employees from around 70 countries (including 1,960 in research and development), in the financial year 2020 (ending in September) the company achieved a turnover of € 3.1 billion. With a research expenditure of 498 million euros, Infineon Austria is one of the strongest research companies in Austria.