On 23 May 2023, the Technical Committee meeting took place at the Department of Plastics Engineering of the Institute of Materials Science of Prof. Hans-Peter Heim at the University of Kassel. Behind the historic walls of the Sophie-Henschel-Haus, eight technical papers on hybrid materials were presented. Topics included corrosion and fatigue properties and the influence of thermally induced residual stresses. Two further focal points were the use of innovative digital methods, e.g. machine learning for the detection of damage mechanisms, and the integration of actuator functions in hybrid materials, which opens up new fields of application. Surface pretreatment to ensure stable interfaces of hybrid material combinations played a central role in all questions.

The exciting presentations were complemented by intensive technical discussions. The discussions contributed significantly to the exchange of "lessons learned" and thus to the targeted support of research. Furthermore, new collaborations within the community resulted from the discussions. The next expert committee meeting is scheduled for February 2024 in Augsburg, Germany.

Daniel Hülsbusch, Vanderlande Industries GmbH & Co. KG, Mönchengladbach
Joachim Hausmann, Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, Kaiserslautern