Collaboration for the Industry of the Future

GENIUS builds on nearly 30 years of academic collaboration and a decade of scientific partnership within the French-German Institute for the Industry of the Future between KIT and Arts et Métiers. Initially established for four years, the chair receives €150,000 in funding from the UFA, supplemented by regional authorities (e.g., Grand Est, Moselle, Eurométropole de Metz). Its work focuses on four strategic priorities: collaborative design using immersive technologies, advanced manufacturing and recycling processes, optimization and reconfiguration of production systems, and circular economy. The goal is to sustainably manage the entire lifecycle of industrial products.

“GENIUS exemplifies the strong capacity of KIT and Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, through their French-German Institute for the Industry of the Future, to conceive and lead high-impact, transdisciplinary international projects. With a clear focus on delivering practical solutions for industrial transformation under socio-environmental constraints, GENIUS connects key domains—design, materials, processes, and industrial organization—within a circular economy framework. Our ability to bring together French and German teams in a truly transdisciplinary mindset is a cornerstone of this initiative, ensuring not only meaningful, scalable results for industry, but also the training of a new generation of top-level scientists through the Franco-German doctoral program supported by UFA.” States Ivan Iordanoff, Vice President Research and Education at Direction Générale of Arts et Métiers. Thomas Hirth, Vice President Transfer and International Affairs at KIT affirms “With the topic of circular economy, GENIUS addresses one of the major challenegs of the 21st century: conserving resources and reducing the use of primary resources. At the same time, it is an excellent example of Franco-German cooperation within the framework of the Franco-German Institute for Industry of the Future and the collaboration between Arts et Métiers and KIT. The focus is on interdisciplinary projects that address the essential aspects of the circular economy, such as design, manufacturing, dismantling, and recycling, as well as products and their materials. However, GENIUS focuses not only on technical aspects, but also on the economic, ecological, and social aspects of the circular economy. Through this form of international cooperation, KIT and AM are strengthening their research focus on the circular economy and its international visibility. We would like to thank the DFH for its great support.”

“With GENIUS, we are strengthening the German-French alliance to prepare industry for the challenges of the 21st century.” emphasizes Jean-Rémy Chardonnet, Deputy Director of Arts et Métiers and co-holder of the chair. Volker Schulze, Head of the Institute of Production Science at KIT, adds: “The chair links design and manufacturing in innovative ways, training a new generation of engineers to think and act sustainably.” GENIUS relies on joint doctoral projects, innovative teaching methods, and close integration of research and industry. “The UFA is proud to support the French-German GENIUS chair in promoting sustainable industrial production in Europe, at the intersection of higher education and cutting-edge technological research. We look forward to this fruitful collaboration with Arts et Métiers and KIT,” states Udo Thelen, General Secretary of the Deutsch-Französische Hochschule / Université Franco-Allemande (UFA/DFH).