SIEMENS

Step back," says a man on Track 7. "We’ll be moving shortly." Around 100 people are standing on the wet platform. But they’re not waiting for the train to chug out of the station. That’s because this "Science Express" is much more than just a train — it’s a mobile exhibition. And the exhibition has been rolling through Germany since April 2009. By November, the Science Express will have stopped in more than 60 cities, with some 1,500 visitors coming to see it each day.
The train, which is 300 meters long, offers a detailed look at the world of science and technology, addressing questions such as: Where will we be living and working in 20 years? How can our healthcare system remain affordable given an aging population? Will machines one day be able to think like us? How can we provide a growing global population with sufficient food and energy without damaging the environment? Each of the train’s 12 rail cars is devoted to a different topic, providing a taste of things to come and how new technologies will change our lives.
The train was designed by the Max Planck Society, which also attracted millions of visitors in India with a similar train. The Science Express is being funded by the German federal government and many institutes and research groups as part of the exhibition series for Science Year 2009 and the celebrations surrounding the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Federal Republic.
Siemens is one of three business partners, along with Bayer and Volkswagen, that are providing support. The company has made available 13 exhibits on topics such as energy and the environment, health, mobility, and urban life. "The idea is to get young people in particular interested in science and technology," says Siemens Chairman Peter Löscher. "In my opinion, for example, sustainability is the most urgent issue of the 21st century. It’s also a key theme of the traveling exhibition. That’s why we firmly support the exciting journey into the world of tomorrow it offers."
The Science Express spends an average of three days in each city it visits, attracting so much attention that long lines are not uncommon. Many people therefore show up at the platform as early as 10 a.m. "We’ve got school classes going in every ten minutes," says the train’s "conductor." Siemens has in fact organized tours of the train for around 80 partner schools as part of its support program.
The company also placed several eight-page inserts in Der SPIEGEL and other magazines, as well as producing films for television and various websites on the topics addressed by the exhibition.

From Blue to Green-Collar Jobs. With fewer students studying the natural sciences or technology-related subjects, campaigns like the Science Express are urgently needed. According to the Association of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Germany lost around €20 billion worth of gross domestic product in 2007 due to a lack of specialists. But science-related opportunities are great in fields like environmental technology, where Germany is currently the world leader and holds 16 % of the market, while Europe accounts for a 45 % share of the market.
"I can see a clear trend from blue to green-collar jobs," says Löscher. Adds Dr. Reinhold Achatz, Head of Siemens Corporate Research and Technologies (CT), "To create green-collar jobs, you need engineers who can squeeze more and more power out of wind and gas turbines. You also need sensor specialists, materials researchers, and software developers — not to mention simulation experts who can create products on a computer before they’re built. Also to be considered are specialists for environmental life cycle assessments, and biologists, who use nature as a model for new technology solutions." A study conducted by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants predicts that the global market for environmentally- friendly technologies will grow to more than €3 trillion by 2020, which translates into annual expansion of over 6 %.
In order to address such issues and initiate a discussion about the jobs of the future, Siemens organized a supporting program for the exhibition train featuring two panel discussions with distinguished experts in Munich and Nuremberg. This will be followed at the end of October in Berlin by an international conference known as "Future Dialogue" that will feature representatives from the realms of science, business, and government. The conference will focus on the key future issues of climate change, healthcare, and urbanization. "To shape the future, we need men and women of diverse backgrounds who can contribute their knowledge and unique cultural perspectives," Löscher explains. "In fact, the sky’s the limit for such motivated individuals."
Steffen Strobel is definitely one such individual. A computer science student, Strobel is one of the 13 winners of Germany’s nationwide Young Researchers 2009 competition. Strobel developed an infrared camera system that makes the veins that lie underneath the skin visible on a computer, thereby enabling doctors to make more precise injections, for example. German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented Strobel with a special award for the most original work submitted for the competition. Strobel, 20, has always been interested in medical and computer technology. "That’s why I’m so excited to see how these topics are addressed in the science train," he said.

Fundamental Research and Applications. The "Express" begins with questions concerning where we come from and where we’re going. The second rail car takes visitors on a journey into the past. Inside it’s dark, the ceiling is mirrored, and stars flicker on the walls. Here, the visitor learns how the universe came into being. Then it’s on to smaller things — more specifically the nanocosmos — in the third car. Like a giant zoom-in, the view homes in on the earth, humans, and the materials of which matter is made. Visitors to the fourth car pass through a futuristic metallic web that unnoticeably transforms itself into a cell-like structure. Here, nanotechnology and biotechnology merge in images.
Rail car Number 5 displays the digital communication paths that span and crisscross the earth. A globe is used to depict the distances and paths covered when a website in a foreign country is accessed, for example. Digital networks cover more than just the Internet, however, as industrial production is set to become even more networked in the future — and even more environmentally friendly.
Siemens presents the digital factory of tomorrow in rail car 6. Here, the miniature facility simulates the fully-automated production of small soccer balls, as the eyes of interested visitors follow the nine-meter long glassed-in manufacturing line with its tiny humming machines. The latter process the leather raw material at various stations before the final product emerges. All processes are controlled and coordinated with one another from a control center. Over on the far left, machines virtually press and punch the leather into small pieces and sew these into balls that they pass on to the next workstation. Other machines later check final product quality, with all of this done completely automatically.