Anyone who travels to the University of Konstanz campus from the West side automatically passes by building W first. The unpretentious, short building in front of the main entrance is home to an important part of the university's infrastructure: Scientific Engineering Services.

The corresponding workshops constructed in the early years of the university perfectly fit its concept and goal of being a reform university: The idea has always been to make the technical staff, know-how, machines, tools and other technical resources available to all university members equally in one central location, instead of splitting them up among individual chairs or research teams. Today, the Scientific Engineering Services team is comprised of just under 50 specialists in different technical professions as well as 18 apprentices/trainees.

© Inka Reiter/Universität Konstanz

Harald Kautz, director of Scientific Engineering Services and leader of the electronic development team
 

The Scientific Engineering Services truly stand out in the German university landscape and are sometimes even the decisive argument for researchers to come to the university. "In the past, we have heard from individual researchers that the technical infrastructure and services provided by Scientific Engineering Services were actually among the reasons why they chose to come to Konstanz. We have also heard from alumni who left the university, that they regret no longer having services like ours available in their new workplace", says Harald Kautz, director of Scientific Engineering Services and leader of the electronic development team.