“I have the best profession in the world!” Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz is proud to be an engineer. For the Executive Board Chairman of ThyssenKrupp AG there are countless reasons to choose this profession. He has summarized the most important of them in a book launched today at Technische Universität Berlin. Its title: “55 reasons to become an engineer”. The launch was attended by German President Christian Wulff and 200 invited guests from the political, business and academic worlds.

“55 reasons to become an engineer” is an impassioned plea and a declaration of love in one. Every day, engineers are involved in inventing new materials, technologies and processes, while at the same time proving themselves as outstanding managers and business people. The book shows countless examples of how engineers, often unseen by the public and in the face of resistance, develop machines and technologies whose importance in some cases only becomes apparent generations later. Whether it’s car manufacturer Gottlieb Daimler, printing press inventor Johannes Gutenberg or computer pioneer Konrad Zuse – their inventions not only made life easier, they inspired revolutions.

The book launch was accompanied by an expert panel discussion on the subject of “Generating enthusiasm for technology, recruiting young engineers”: Together with Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Bullinger, President of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Prof. Dr. Ursula Gather, Rector of Technische Universität Dortmund, Jugend forscht science competition winner Tobias Kaufmann as well as teachers, pupils and students, Dr. Schulz debated the glaring lack of engineers in Germany.

Germany is still short of 50,000 engineers. Statistically speaking, for every engineering job another two people are employed in other areas, so the economic significance of this shortage is clear.

“Evidently we have an image problem: Technicians rarely feature among our society’s top celebrities. Where are the engineers who are role models for young people and are regarded by our children and grandchildren as cool?” asked Dr. Schulz. “It’s up to all of us to generate enthusiasm for technology in children and young people!“ But to generate that enthusiasm he believes that technology has to become more tangible and experienceable. Dr. Schulz: “Cars, airplanes, mobile phones: Technology is made by people for people. For that we need the right minds, the right ideas, the right education and of course entrepreneurship!”

The 255-page book (ISBN 978-3-86774-105-7) is published by Murmann Verlag, Hamburg, and goes on sale in bookstores priced 16 euros from September 23.

More information about the book, its theme and its author is available on the internet at http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/presse or http://www.55gruende.de, on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/55.Gruende.Ingenieur.zu.werden and on Twitter http://twitter.com/55gruende.

About the author:

Ekkehard D. Schulz, born 1941, studied metallurgy at Clausthal University of Technology. After gaining his doctorate he worked in various divisions of Thyssen. In 1986 he became a member of the board of Thyssen Stahl AG and 5 years later chairman. At the same time he became a member of the board of Thyssen AG. Since 1999 he has been Executive Board Chairman of ThyssenKrupp AG, created by the merger of Thyssen and Krupp. Dr. Ing. Ekkehard D. Schulz is an honorary professor of Clausthal University of Technology and an honorary doctor of Technische Universität Berlin and RWTH Aachen University. He was also a member of the Council for Innovation and Growth under Federal Chancellors Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel. In 2008 he won the Innovation Award of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He is a passionate supporter of young engineering talent. The “Discovering Future Technology” initiative launched by Dr. Schulz in 2004 aims to enthuse young people in particular for technology and science. The high-point and flagship of the initiative is the Ideas Park, a technology experience directed mainly at young people, students and families. Three ThyssenKrupp Ideas Parks have taken place with great success in recent years. In Gelsenkirchen (2004), Hanover (2006) and Stuttgart (2008), over half a million visitors had the opportunity to experience technology first-hand. This commitment will be continued in the future: The next Ideas Park will take place in Essen in 2012.