Work and technology in transition - people at the centre?

Special officer for the KFT conference. Join us in looking forward to: Thomas Wunderlich, Captain of the "POLARSTERN" & Project Manager "POLARSTERN II"

The research vessel POLARSTERN is the most important tool of German polar research and currently the flagship of the Alfred Wegener Institute. Lusatian-born Thomas Wunderlich took command of it in 2020 for the MOSAiC project, making him the captain of the largest polar expedition of all time.
The POLARSTERN II, a world-class research vessel that sets new standards in terms of sustainability, is currently being built at the shipyard in Wismar. Thomas Wunderlich is currently the project manager for this construction project.

Registration for the KFT conference on 4 November 2025 is now open. The list of speakers has been finalised and the schedule defined. We look forward to interesting presentations and perspectives that will explore the multifaceted question of whether people are really at the centre of the transformation of the world of work. You can use the flyer to register for the conference by 14 October 2025 as described.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Technology Stress (KFT)
To shape the future of work, Europe needs strategies, Germany needs ideas and every region needs people to discuss and implement strategies and ideas. In order to take on the responsibility of research for these challenges, the "Cooperative Research Centre for Technology Stress" (KFT) was established in 2011 at the field of study Occupational Sciences and Industrial Psychology together with industrial research partners.

For fourteen years now, intensive research has been conducted at BTU on future topics in the change process "Industry and Work 4.0". Nationally and internationally recognised results relate to various fields of research that focus on how working people interact with technology in a highly complex working environment. Current phenomena in the world of work are analysed by the Awip team in three research pillars (basic research, field research and model and concept development) and generalised rules of action for users and manufacturers for dealing with new forms of stress are developed.