WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:01.520 My name is Dieter Zetsche. 00:02.200 --> 00:07.560 I spent many decades at Daimler and today, in addition to other tasks, 00:08.080 --> 00:09.420 I am the head of the board of directors at TUI. 00:14.660 --> 00:19.200 I studied at Karlsruhe, one of the technical universities there at 00:19.200 --> 00:23.280 that time, and studied electrical engineering, engineering and control 00:23.280 --> 00:23.740 engineering. 00:23.740 --> 00:26.540 That was an absolute coincidence, and I certainly don't want to 00:26.540 --> 00:27.840 compare myself to Carl Benz. 00:28.200 --> 00:32.660 Nevertheless, in my time as chairman of the board, I had a bit of a 00:32.660 --> 00:37.340 feeling that I had been given a torch by the founders of this great 00:37.340 --> 00:41.000 company, and in particular the brand Mercedes-Benz, that it was my 00:41.000 --> 00:45.740 task to maintain this value, to increase it and then to hand it over 00:45.740 --> 00:45.740 again. 00:45.740 --> 00:50.800 I think there are two main things that I have learned at TUI. 00:51.100 --> 00:55.880 One is, as an engineer, to recognize problems and to look for 00:55.880 --> 00:56.800 solutions, in general. 00:57.400 --> 01:01.820 And the other is, as a control technician, to think in systems and to 01:01.820 --> 01:06.920 actually find big solutions and not small ones, which in the end can 01:06.920 --> 01:10.500 never be as successful as a system, a systematic approach. 01:10.720 --> 01:14.100 And this can be applied in all fields, not just in technology. 01:14.100 --> 01:18.500 It was very clear to me that KIT was the right place for my later 01:18.500 --> 01:19.060 development. 01:19.640 --> 01:22.340 In this respect, when I was not a car maker, I knew that I had to get 01:22.340 --> 01:23.000 into the car industry. 01:23.640 --> 01:28.340 But I simply looked for a job outside the institute for my diploma 01:28.340 --> 01:30.760 work, and there was an extension of research at Daimler. 01:30.800 --> 01:32.000 I said, that sounds interesting. 01:32.440 --> 01:34.640 I was accepted, and the rest is history. 01:34.640 --> 01:41.000 It is not a secret, what I believe in all this time, and I think I 01:41.000 --> 01:43.180 spent almost 20 years in a university council. 01:43.300 --> 01:44.180 It has various names. 01:45.320 --> 01:50.300 What impressed me particularly was, in the end, the connection with 01:50.300 --> 01:51.500 the research institute. 01:52.120 --> 01:55.380 With this, something unique has arisen in Germany, and I was able to 01:55.380 --> 01:56.240 participate in it a little bit. 01:58.020 --> 01:59.880 That was the most important thing for me. 01:59.880 --> 02:05.000 The KIT's unique position is, I think, really this great weight of 02:05.000 --> 02:09.800 research and science on the one hand, the excellent teaching, but then 02:09.800 --> 02:12.180 also the focus on innovation. 02:12.900 --> 02:19.620 Not only the curiosity, but ultimately connected with a result, with 02:19.620 --> 02:21.480 results that can be evaluated. 02:22.880 --> 02:25.720 First of all, the fact that it is a campus university is something 02:25.720 --> 02:28.340 that is beautiful, not scattered, but compact. 02:28.340 --> 02:33.100 Secondly, I found the atmosphere there positive. 02:34.080 --> 02:37.800 And in addition to the interesting lectures and what you learned 02:37.800 --> 02:40.500 there, the student riding was a highlight for me. 02:40.860 --> 02:45.560 That led me through all of Germany, to tournaments, and took up enough 02:45.560 --> 02:48.000 time for me in a positive sense. 02:48.360 --> 02:52.120 If you want to be successful in a profession, then the profession has 02:52.120 --> 02:52.420 to be fun. 02:54.260 --> 02:57.360 First of all, you have to take care of your tasks and not your career. 02:57.820 --> 03:00.480 Ultimately, however, you have to understand that the profession is not 03:00.480 --> 03:03.220 everything, and you have to maintain a reasonable balance for 03:03.220 --> 03:04.760 yourself, so that you can develop as a person. 03:05.760 --> 03:06.660 And then you will be good at your job. 03:07.620 --> 03:11.320 To be engaged professionally is not a contradiction to enjoying life. 03:11.740 --> 03:15.740 It is part of life, and I have always had a lot of fun with 03:15.740 --> 03:21.160 technology, with innovation, with working with people, young people. 03:21.620 --> 03:26.300 That's why I still spend a lot of time with such tasks, but of course 03:26.300 --> 03:28.460 I also spend a lot of time with my family, with my five grandchildren 03:28.460 --> 03:29.580 and other interests. 03:29.900 --> 03:35.520 Well, I think it is obvious that humanity is growing and growing, and 03:35.520 --> 03:38.920 it is doing this more and more at the expense of our planet, to bring 03:38.920 --> 03:43.460 both together again, so that on the one hand more and more people can 03:43.460 --> 03:50.080 lead a life worth living, and on the other hand we need science and 03:50.080 --> 03:52.160 technology to find solutions to keep the planet alive. 03:53.040 --> 03:55.440 The key is, first of all, that we want to have a future. 03:56.500 --> 04:01.080 And with the challenges that we all know, primarily certainly the 04:01.080 --> 04:04.560 environment, but of course also the conflicts that we have, everything 04:04.560 --> 04:08.760 that we can contribute to this, to knowledge, to science, to 04:08.760 --> 04:13.300 solutions, in a technological way, but also in a social way, is not 04:13.300 --> 04:15.960 only important, but crucial for our future. 04:16.680 --> 04:21.880 And that's why I'm very happy that we have the KIT, to be able to make 04:21.880 --> 04:23.440 important contributions here. 04:24.160 --> 04:29.820 I hope that the KIT, primarily probably in the fields of energy, 04:30.120 --> 04:34.540 mobility, will make essential contributions to solutions, solutions 04:34.540 --> 04:39.600 for the future design of our society, the future design of our life, 04:40.280 --> 04:41.640 so that this planet remains viable.