international - Bergische Universität Wuppertal

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Two generations of combined heat and power know-how at WSW: Volker
Leonhard, Head of Energy Production, graduated in mechanical engineering
from UW. His colleague Damian Seget recently completed a BSc in electrical
engineering.
WanteD by WUppertal mUniCipal Utilities:
engineers maDe in WUppertal
Many specialists em-
ployed in the enginee-
ring and technical divisions of
Wuppertal Municipal Utilities
(WSW) studied in Wuppertal.
The knowledge and knowhow
they gained at UW provided
a solid foundation for
their professional success.
Ingmar Hentsch graduated
from UW in 1999 as an electrical
engineer specializing in
drive control. After initial employment
in the R&D department
of an automotive industries
supplier, he applied in
2006 for the position of Head
of the Meter Checking office
at WSW. “Personal qualities
and teamwork were required”,
Hentsch recalls, and he
mentions the supplementary
training he had to do to qualify
as a certified controller. “Important
for me is the ability
to analyze and solve complex
problems. I need that every
day”, he says – and that was
also something he learned at
UW.
Volker Leonhard, Head of
Energy Production at WSW,
studied mechanical engineering
at UW, graduating in
1981. “It gave us an excellent
theoretical basis”, he remembers.
Asked what he likes
about his job, he singles out
the fact that “as a manager
I am still very close to technological
issues.” Damian
Seget’s career has also
brought an interesting combination
of theory and practice.
Until recently a trainee electrician
at WSW’s combined
heat and power generation
plant in Barmen, he had already
spent several years with
his present employer before
taking his BSc at UW in 2009.
“University was certainly a
sensible step”, he says. With
a degree he has many more
opportunities to apply for higher
positions.
As a civil engineer, Volker
Berges is responsible for
the coordination of construction
activities in Wuppertal’s
electrical power, gas, and
water supply networks, and
in the waste water system.
Dr.-Ing. Christian Kindinger (Civil Engineering), Head
of Transportation Management at WSW, values his
contacts with UW.
Although his main focus at
degree level was structural
engineering, his first job after
graduation in 1986 was with
a road construction company.
This was followed by a period
of general civil engineering
before he moved to WSW in
2002. “As a construction manager
one needs not only specialist
engineering knowledge
but also communicative competencies
and knowledge of
people,” says Berges. “And
one only learns that on the
job.” Nevertheless, he would
not want to have missed his
years at UW: “The teaching
offer there was very broad. In
the end you may only need a
fraction of what you learn, but
you never know beforehand
Dipl.-Ing. Ludwig Froning (Civil Engineering) came to Wuppertal
Dipl.-Ing. Ingmar Hentsch is passionate about electrical engineering. As Head of
to study at UW’s Competence Center for Traffic and Transpor-
the Meter Checking office he is keen to pass on his knowledge to the younger
tation generation of engineers.
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which fraction it will be.”
Civil engineers Christian Kin-
dinger and Ludwig Froning
work in an entirely different
area: municipal transportation.
Majoring at UW’s Competence
Center for Traffic
and Transportation was, Froning
says, the key to his career:
“UW’s specialty in this
field decided me to study in
Wuppertal.” Graduating in
1996, he spent five years in
transportation and road planning
before moving to WSW,
where he is now responsible
for planning bus and Schwebebahn
(Wuppertal’s unique
suspension monorail) services,
and for the bus transport
infrastructure. Kindinger,
although a native of Wuppertal,
admits that the Schwebebahn
was not the reason for
him to study engineering: “In
early semesters I was fasci-
nated by Alpine tunnel construction
and saw myself rather
as an underground engineer.”
But after an internship with
WSW he started as a trainee
in 2003, working his way up
into his present position as
Head of Transportation Management,
where he is, after
all, also responsible for the
Schwebebahn. Maintaining
his links to UW, he completed
his doctorate there in 2010.
Carolin Schürmann and An-
dreas Zafiratos are studying
electrical engineering on
UW’s new twin-track program,
which means that
alongside their degree program
they have been employed
in a perfectly normal way
since fall 2010 as apprentice
electronic systems technicians
at WSW’s Technical operations
Department. Far from
scaring them off, the double
workload is what appeals to
them: “Employers expect
university graduates to have
practical experience, and our
apprentice training gives us
plenty of that.” And, they
add, “if in the end we don’t
manage the degree, we still
have our trade qualification.”
After two years’ training at
WSW they will take their
Chamber of Industry and
Commerce exams. They are
then granted an extra year to
complete their bachelor’s degree,
making four years in all.
Wuppertal Municipal
utilities – WsW
Bromberger Strasse 39–41
42281 Wuppertal
T: +49 (0)202 569-0
E: wsw@wsw-online.de
k www.wsw-online.de
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