New Center for Industrial Software on Its Way to SDU in Sønderborg
SDU is partnering with Bitten & Mads Clausens Foundation, LINAK, and Sønderborg Municipality to establish a new Center for Industrial Software (CIS) featuring research, new laboratories, and corresponding engineering programs in the field of software.
On December 1st, representatives from SDU, Bitten & Mads Clausens Foundation, LINAK, and Sønderborg Municipality signed an agreement to establish the Center for Industrial Software.
The center will offer new educational programs in the field of software at the diploma, bachelor, master's, and Ph.D. levels, as well as unique laboratory facilities and a world-class research unit in software.
The new center is built upon the experiences of the Centers for Industrial Electronics and Mechanics (CIE and CIM), which already have significant and increasing enrollments in the newly established programs. CIE and CIM have demonstrated that it has an impact when industrial partners, municipalities, and universities come together to invest in creating an environment beneficial to all.
With the establishment of CIS, SDU Sønderborg will have deep expertise and corresponding educational programs in electronics, mechanics, mechatronics, and software. This will provide a comprehensive set of competencies in areas where the region's companies are world leaders, including automation, e-mobility, and energy efficiency.
Companies Lack Software Engineers
SDU Sønderborg already has good collaborations with both large and small companies. However, the rapid developments in digitization, the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies, robots, IoT, as well as Edge and Cloud computing, lead to a growing need for highly educated software engineers.
The goal of CIS is to support and expand the leading positions that local companies have in global markets. CIS, together with CIE and CIM, will attract and develop talented students who, upon graduation, can enter companies and generate further growth for businesses as well as the region.
It will also strengthen green transition and sustainable development, areas that businesses generally focus on.
Education and Facilities
Assuming approval from the ministry, diploma and master's programs in Software Engineering and software technology will be established. Modern laboratories are crucial for the plans in Software Engineering.
Complementary to the existing facilities at SDU Sønderborg, laboratories and facilities supporting agile software development in teams for both students and researchers will be established. In this regard, it is planned that Bitten & Mads Clausens Foundation, in collaboration with LINAK, will purchase the research park at Alsion and subsequently lease it for this purpose.
The goal is to admit 55 students to the programs starting in 2023, a number that will increase to 180 by 2029. When fully phased in, CIS aims to educate more than 110 software engineers annually, providing companies with the essential software competencies for continued growth and competitiveness.