Employees with better education and development are more motivated. Because they know more and are able to do more, they are more successful in their tasks and thus more satisfied. For many years now, we have been conducting “Techweeks”, among other things. These are further education events for Komax Group developers and for development-related employees from product management, project management, IT and the corps of apprentices. The focus this year was again on expanding our expertise and competencies in an interdisciplinary manner through training and further education so that we are equipped for the future.

327 employees took part from eight countries

This year, the event took place under the new name Innovation Days. The format was also new. For the first time, employees from the development sites in Germany, France and Asia were able to take part in the courses and offer their own contributions, some of them in English. Due to COVID-19, many courses took place online. This also had advantages: it allowed the courses to be recorded and viewed at a later date. In addition, any number of people could take part without space restrictions. There were 53 course leaders and 327 employees taking part from eight countries.

New knowledge about products, techniques and trends

Over the course of three days, we imparted new knowledge about products, techniques and trends. We also covered existing technologies to deepen this knowledge as well. The wide range of courses spanned the disciplines of electrical, mechanical and software development, in addition to product safety, patenting and cluster vision. We also put our employees’ suggestions and ideas into practice, such as with training courses on electromagnetic compatibility and linear guides or lectures on topics from the market.

Launch event with the Komax Board of Directors

The Innovation Days launch event was already inspiring. The keynote presentation on digitalization was attended by 30 people on site and 150 online. The speaker was Komax Board of Directors member Andreas Häberli, who succeeded in inspiring the audience with his experience and expertise. Häberli holds a degree in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich and a doctorate from its Laboratory for Physical Electronics. Andreas Häberli has been the Chief Technology Officer and a member of the dormakaba Group’s Executive Committee since 2015. He is also a member of the Industrial Advisory Board of ETH Zurich and the Swissmem Research Commission. Andreas Häberli is a typical example of the exacting criteria we use to put together our Board of Directors. 

Expanding the horizon in a targeted manner

One essential aspect was a recurring theme of the Innovation Days: the interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge. Hackathons, in which participants from different subject areas develop solutions for a specific task, were especially suitable for this. In the process, they were able to look beyond their own horizons, learn to better understand the concerns of other subject areas and thus come closer to each other and expand their network. A very special pioneering spirit, like that of researchers and explorers, often emerged.

The Innovation Days were a great success in their new form. Above all, this was demonstrated by the active, committed participation in the event and the positive feedback we received. We are looking forward to the next edition of our interdisciplinary event.

Working at Komax