Training and Education
As one of the world's leading research and development centers in the rubber domain, DIK is a key initiator of training measures throughout the sector of industry.
DIK conducts a two-semester course of advanced study in rubber technology in collaboration with Hannover's Leibniz Universität, the Wirtschaftsverband der deutschen Kautschukindustrie e.V. (wdk) [the organization of the German manufacturers of tires and technical elastomer products] and the German Rubber Society (DKG). The curriculum and the timing are adapted to the group targeted, namely college and university graduates with on-the-job experience. They hear lectures delivered by university professors and recognized experts from industry and DIK.
DIK also offers the advanced education course "Rubber Technology for Beginners", imparting to participants basic knowledge of rubber types, fillers, vulcanization, processing technology and properties.
For specialists in the field, DIK offers top-level "Modular advanced education curriculum courses" covering topics like "Raw Materials", "Processing", and "Properties". A high-powered program zeros in on select issues in each topic area. Ample practice-oriented demonstrations of various focal points enable participants to immediately put what they have learned to use in their work.
The specialist seminars DIK initiates and runs have enabled the Institute to win a name for itself well beyond its own sector. These seminars aim to impart what is currently state of the art in theory and practice and trigger discussions with those taking part. Recognized specialists from the ranks of industry and academia conduct the seminars and vouch for their high level. In 2017 and 2018, a seminar is being offered in "Modern Elastomer- and Material Analysis" as well as a "Milling Room Seminar - Part 1 and Part 2".
Rubber processing and rubber technology can basically be broken down into three main areas: material – machine – process. These areas occupy center stage in the series of seminars redrafted by DIK/DKG in the last few years. Carried out jointly with DKG, the seminars "Extrusion - Fundamentals and Praxis", "Injection Molding of Elastomers" and "TPE - Fundamentals and Praxis" are held in Hannover.
An English-language seminar under the heading "Mixing of Rubber Compounds" is held In Freudenberg, running parallel to its German-language counterpart "Herstellung von Kautschukmischungen". The seminar aims to impart to those employed in compounding centers what they need to know to set up optimum mixing processes. It targets specialists in this production area and well as those new to it. It is, however, also of interest to those involved in research and development in the realm of rubber-compound processing technology.
By focusing on the very latest expertise in the field, the Technical Conferences on select topics complement the content offered in the more systematically structured advanced education program. Internationally respected R&D specialists speak at these gatherings. In this way, the Technical Conferences ideally bridge the gap between academic expertise and workaday industrial life. They are geared primarily to experienced employees well schooled in the trade. Conducted in English, the Technical Conferences are, moreover, also of keen interest to staff from companies and organizations with global operations. The gatherings guarantee a highly intense exchange of knowledge across a broad range.
