Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martina Zimmermann, holder of the Chair of Materials Mechanics and Damage Analysis at TU Dresden, took part in the panel discussion “Opportunities and Challenges for a Sustainable World?” on Friday evening (26 September), together with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Beckmann (TU Dresden), Adrian Willig (VDI), and Rebecca Bliklen (Ramboll), moderated by Ina Christiansen (VDI Network Women in Engineering). The focus was on questions concerning the responsibility of technical disciplines for a sustainable future and the contribution of engineering research to social transformation processes.

On 27 September, Prof. Zimmermann herself led the workshop “Digitalization and classical engineering education – how engineers can make a sustainable contribution to the challenges of climate change.” Around 50 participants discussed how digital technologies, open research data, and new learning formats can change the education of engineers and promote sustainable solutions.

In this context, Prof. Zimmermann also presented ongoing research activities in the context of digitalization, materials, and sustainability—including the projects DaMiC—Data-driven Alloy and Microstructure Design of Sustainable Metallic Construction Materials (SPP 2489) and D³—Data-driven Design of Resilient Metamaterials (GRK 2868). She also provided insights into the NFDI-MatWerk initiative, the range of topics covered by the German Society for Materials Science, and the Fraunhofer flagship project ORCHESTER.

Prof. Zimmermann was impressed by the palpable energy and diversity among the participants: "So many exciting women sharing their expertise, perspectives, and experiences – that inspires me greatly. I would be very happy to see these networking activities continue."

The VDI Women's Congress thus provided a lively platform for exchange and inspiration – and once again demonstrated how important visibility, diversity, and collaboration are for sustainable engineering.