On November 8, 2022, the microelectronics industry will meet at the VDE and ZVEI summit "Microelectronics for Future - Application and Trends: Quantum Technologies" in the Futurium Berlin. This year, the focus of the event is on quantum technology. Top-class speakers from business, science and politics as well as experts from the relevant fields of science come together in Berlin to provide new impetus for the future of the semiconductor industry in Germany and Europe. Because microelectronics serves almost all manufacturing sectors as a key technology for the development of innovations and without it a technological advantage is hardly conceivable.
No quantum technology without microelectronics
The new format "Microelectronics for Future" takes place annually under a separate topic, which is aimed at a specific area of application. This year, the focus of the event is on quantum technology. As our world today operates with sophisticated electronic and digital instruments, it is easy to overlook that these are mostly made up of quanta.
Quantum technology promises groundbreaking innovations and unimagined possibilities by crossing today's technological frontiers. Germany has a great deal of expertise in quantum physics and also in microelectronics - and thus in good conditions to make the development of quantum technological systems usable in applications at an early stage and to help shape their development internationally.
Sustainably strengthen microelectronics
Microelectronics must be secured and strengthened as an enabler for future quantum technologies and thus for increasing electrification and digitization in Germany and Europe. In order to reduce one-sided dependencies in supply and supply chains, production capacities must be increased on the one hand and knowledge and skills expanded on the other.
It is about more young people and qualified specialists. It is necessary for business, science and politics to work together to get schoolchildren excited about careers in the natural sciences and technology. This is so important because, according to a ZVEI survey, six out of ten companies state that the shortage of skilled workers is by far the greatest obstacle to digitization.
The program of the summit
The speakers at the “Microelectronics for Future” summit include Prof. Dr. Immanuel Bloch from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Dr. Heike Riel from IBM Quantum Research and Prof. Dr. Thomas Kropf by Robert Bosch. In addition, the participants can look forward to a discussion with Dr.-Ing. Gunther Kegel, President of the ZVEI, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Armin Schnettler, President of the VDE and Udo Philipp, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Economics.
Among others, Mario Brandenburg, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Christin Eisenschmid from Intel Germany, Prof. Stefan Filipp from the Technical University of Munich, Dr. Michael Förtsch from Q.ANT and Dr. Reinhard Ploss from Acatech.
Another item on the agenda are the award ceremonies for the student competition "Invent a Chip" and the student competition COSIMA. As chairman of the summit, Dr. André Kretschmann, who heads the “Advanced Technologies and Micro Systems” department in central research at Robert Bosch.
"Microelectronics for Future" is a further development of the earlier "Microelectronics Symposium". It is organized jointly by the VDE and the ZVEI. Partners of the event include Silicon Saxony, the Edacentrum and Fraunhofer.
