2010-08-19 - The number of student scholars sponsored in different parts of the world by the ABB Jürgen Dormann Foundation for Engineering Education is set to treble in the next two years.
By
ABB Communications
Gary Steel, chairman of the foundation’s board and head of ABB Human Resources, told the first international meeting of scholars, held at the ABB corporate research center in Dättwil, Switzerland, that the number of current scholarships – about 50 - would reach at least 150 in the next two years.
A total of 34 foundation scholars – from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and Poland – are currently attending a week of special events in Switzerland, including the meeting in Dättwil. Partnership agreements have also been signed with universities in Egypt and Mexico and the first scholarships will be awarded this year. Discussions will be held with universities in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam, and Steel said other countries might be added in the future.
The foundation, which was set up in Switzerland in 2007, aims to provide scholarships to talented electrical engineering students who need financial support to continue their studies.
A number of students expressed their gratitude to the foundation. Kamila Biernacka, a student at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland, said: “I am grateful to the foundation for supporting me in my studies. I hope soon to be able to continue on to a PhD in solid state physics.”
Several speakers at the event paid tribute to the achievements of Jürgen Dormann, after whom the Foundation is named. Dormann, a former chairman and CEO who left ABB in 2007, attended the event in Dättwil.
Jürgen Dormann, after whom the Foundation is named, talking to students at the meeting.In his presentation, Joe Hogan, ABB’s chief executive, said that in the current era energy and bio-technology are the key drivers of scientific, social and environmental progress, and that talented engineering students are well placed to determine the economic, social and environmental future.
Peter Terwiesch, head of Research and Development, looked at some of ABB’s technology innovations over the past century before highlighting the company’s multiple contributions to smarter and stronger grids. “In a world where emissions leading to climate change will double by 2050 if we do nothing, and we are being asked to halve global emissions by the same date, energy efficient products and systems, and the integration of renewable sources of energy, must be part of the answer,” he said.
Among the other speaks was Nina Thornhill, Professor of Process Automation at Imperial College London, who addressed the challenges facing process control engineers in managing connected control systems. She focused on an example in the US state of Tennessee where engineers sought answers to sticking valves, having established a connection with thunderstorms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Jürgen Dormann and Gary Steel, chairman of the foundation’s board, with students. In another speech, Peter Bedford, head of ABB Talent, told the students what kind of qualities ABB looks for in new employees, and how the company offers great opportunities for creative and innovative work, and for serving the communities in which the company operates.
Also present at the meeting were Swiss students, including some from the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, as well as ABB global trainees and interns.
During their visit to Switzerland, the foundation students are working on and presenting engineering projects, and will visit ABB centers and the ETH. They will also have time for sightseeing in central Switzerland.
The students receive scholarships for a maximum of four to five years, and attend at least one international meeting organized by the foundation during that time. They also receive mentoring from ABB specialists in their home country.