On January 24, 2024, a meeting was held at the Institute of Metrology, Electronics and Computer Science at UZ with B&R. The occasion for this meeting, which had been planned for some time, was the renewal of the cooperation agreement between B&R and the University of Zielona Góra.
B&R Industrial Automation is a manufacturer of production automation technology. B&R, founded in 1979 by Erwin Bernecker and Josef Rainer, is headquartered in Eggelsberg in Upper Austria. Currently, B&R is a member of the ABB group and a leading global provider of automation solutions for machinery and factories. The company's Polish branch is based in Poznań.
The meeting, which was organized in cooperation with the Polish Society of Theoretical and Applied Electrical Engineering Branch in Zielona Góra and the Polish IEEE Computer Society Branch, currently based in Zielona Góra, was attended by Prof. Justyna Patalas-Maliszewska - Vice-Rector for cooperation with the economy, Prof. Andrzej Obuchowicz - Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science, Electronics and Automation (WIEA) and employees and students of WIEA.
The previous cooperation was carried out within the framework of an agreement concluded by UZ and B&R in October 2010 and focused on student education. The cooperation framework included in the agreement was fulfilled by the Institute of Metrology, Electronics and Computer Science through activities such as laboratory classes using equipment provided free of charge by B&R and purchased from B&R, student internships as part of the "B&R Internships in Your City" program, diploma theses based on B&R equipment. Additionally, students participated in training organized at the company's branches regarding programming principles using the "B&R Automation Studio" environment, which is comprehensive configuration and programming software designed for all of the manufacturer's products.
The ceremonial mutual transfer of the signed new agreement at the end of 2023 was of significant and symbolic importance for the continuation of cooperation. This moment was preceded by a speech by Prof. Justyna Patalas-Maliszewska. In her speech, Professor emphasized the importance that the University attaches to cooperation with industry partners, which contributes to increasing the attractiveness of the university's study programs and creates conditions for joint research and development work.
It is worth noting that the provisions of the new cooperation agreement between the University of Zielona Góra and B&R create prospects for the university, including the modernization and enhancement of educational activities in the field of industrial automation systems, facilitating the conduct of courses for students and staff in this area, expanding the offer of internships and diploma theses for students, strengthening cooperation with industry. For B&R, the new agreement provides an opportunity to promote B&R technology in academic circles, support the education of engineering staff as potential partners and customers, and solve significant technical problems.
An integral part of the meeting was a lecture by Marcin Kotlarek, representing B&R, entitled "Trends in Automation. Programming the new generation production system ACOPOStrak". During the lecture, the ACOPOStrak system was characterized and its possibilities were presented, which is an intelligent transport system allowing for adaptive production. Intelligent production machine elements were also presented, as well as B&R's offer in terms of student development.
Photographs: K. Adamczewski
