Empa. Materialforschung und Technologie.

1

Welcome SARMA Annual Conference _at_ Empa Peter
Hofer
2
Empa in Numbers
3 Sites Dübendorf, St. Gallen, Thun 830
Employees (720 FTE) 400 University graduates
100 Graduates of universities of applied
science 130 PhD students
Budget 83 mio. CHF federal funding 40 mio. CHF
third party funding
3
Research at Empa
? Theme-oriented Themes are top-down defined
? Each theme must combine - different
scientific disciplines - competencies of
different laboratories (internal and external) -
natural science and engineering science
? projects should be use-inspired
applications solutions
? research based services
4
Empas Research Themes what do we do?
5
What are the Prerequisites for Success?
adequate organization of the key processes
1. Setting the goals
2. Controlling the achievement of the goals
3. Allocation of resources
4. Finding the right staff
6
Steering Mechanisms of Empas Research
Long term 12-16 years Research Themes
Theme set by the board of directors structure
(what shall be done within this theme) proposed
by a steering group and accepted by the board
Control Evaluation by an international team of
scientists
medium term 4 years Working Plan of each
Laboratory
made by the laboratory- and group leaders and
scientists accepted by the board of directors
short term 1 year Performance agreement of each
Laboratory
made by the laboratory- and group
leaders accepted by the board of directors
Control - Reporting to the board - Visit of the
lab by the CEO and the head of Department
7
How to get the right staff?
? Be attractive for young scientists
? Set the right incentives
Empa 1990 job security wrong incentive
Empa 2008 - interesting research projects for
young scientists - ideal platform for an
industrial career
? Challenge these young scientist in a organised
project
? Keep the best for a long-term engagement
8
I wish you an interesting meeting and I thank you
for your attention