As a society and an industrial nation, how can we respond to the global megatrends of our time in a way that ensures long-term success? We are all more than familiar with related buzzwords such as digitalisation, urbanisation, mobility and resource availability – and how could we fail to be given the almost inflationary frequency with which they are used. We nevertheless ignore them at our peril, as they clearly signpost the way in which our world is set to develop. Our vision of 2030 might not yet be either fully rounded or crystal clear, but, to borrow the words of Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926):

It is against this backdrop that we will take this year’s event as an opportunity to not only present novel materials, technologies and systems, but also join you in a critical discussion of their ability to cope with the challenges of the future. The motto of the 22nd Dresden International Lightweight En-gineering Symposium – “Integrated lightweight engineering – the key to growth in 2030” – is inten-tionally broad in scope, as Germany and Europe are no longer the only players setting the pace in the field of resource-efficient lightweight engineering. Countries such as China, Singapore and the Re-public of Korea already possess the economic strength and forward-thinking strategies to open up the markets of the future and develop the intelligent, cost-efficient solutions those new markets demand. The European approach must therefore be one of exchange and cooperation rather than isolation. Given its focus on eastern partner countries in recent years, the Dresden International Lightweight Engineering Symposium is in a unique position to provide a promising springboard for this strategic approach.

In the case of the Republic of Korea in particular, Dresden and the surrounding region can look back on a long, intensive partnership that has led to friendly cooperation on many different levels. To give an example, the Korea-Germany Materials Center (KGMC) in Changwon sees German and South Korean scientists jointly develop new material systems, manufacturing techniques, tailored engineer-ing methods and test and validation procedures for applications in the field of “function-integrative lightweight engineering in multi-material design”. The aim must now be to forge the outstanding experience gained within the framework of cooperative research and development activities into a foundation for the establishment of joint value chains offering mutual benefits. After all, globally networked high-end technologies and corresponding production chains have a vital role to play if integrated lightweight engineering is to tap into a sustainable source of growth, jobs, prosperity and, in turn, social justice.

Now in its 22nd year, the Dresden International Lightweight Engineering Symposium is a firmly estab-lished platform for the transfer of cross-sector, cross-product knowledge and experience between science, industry, society and the political sphere. In particular, it gives lightweight engineers a syn-ergetic forum for the discussion of research and development activities and the forging of new inter-national business ties. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be especially keen to take advantage of our exclusive package, which provides access to strong partners in the shape of both the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and its Korean counterpart, KOTRA.
Partnership between equals offers one thing above all: Opportunities. It is therefore our pleasure to invite you to join us in exploring a host of those opportunities here in the city of Dresden – an inter-nationally renowned centre for culture and high technology with a University of Excellence and a host of top-class non-university research institutions.