Battery test center is committed to promoting women in technical professions
Trial day for prospective female engineers at Voltavision in Bochum
Voltavision, a leading testing specialist for high-voltage batteries in the development phase, is reaffirming its commitment to diversity and is actively working to increase the proportion of women in “typically male” professional fields. Following last year's participation in Girls' Day, this year's event will kick off with a special event for female students.
With the active support of Prof. Dr. Dorothee Feldmüller, Professor of Business Informatics and Deputy Equal Opportunities Officer at Bochum University of Applied Sciences, prospective female engineers from various degree courses were given an insight into everyday life at a development and test center at the end of January. In addition to laboratory tours, female employees from Voltavision reported on their diverse activities and possible options within the company. Dr. Katja Buß, Industrial Engineer and Head of Module Testing with 23 employees, Christina Kliewer-Stahl, Industrial Engineer, and Lisa Wolf, Human Performance, spoke about their positive experiences and challenges as women in a supposedly male-dominated field. Last but not least, Managing Director Nils Stentenbach, who himself studied in Bochum and led the start-up Voltavision together with his brother Julian Stentenbach to become a successful company with 174 Voltavision employees, was on hand to answer questions.
Prof. Dr. Feldmüller supported the organization and implementation of the taster afternoon at Voltavision in Bochum's Technologiequartier. The Professor of Business Informatics and co-founder of the WomEngineer network wants to motivate more girls to study a technical subject. To this end, she and her network create space for information, awareness-raising and better networking among women. This includes events such as the taster day at Voltavision.
“We are a young, up-and-coming company in a technical environment that embraces diversity. This makes it all the more important for us to get more women interested in what we do. The traditional distribution of roles should also be a thing of the past in everyday working life, as we all benefit from the different skills of each employee. For example, we are committed to supporting students, especially female students. In addition to funding scholarships and various university partnerships, I believe that information events at eye level are a good option, especially with regard to young female talent, in order to get into conversation, get young women interested in our work and also dispel possible reservations,” says Nils Stentenbach, Managing Director of Voltavision.
About Voltavision: From university project to successful company
Voltavision is now a leading testing specialist for high-voltage batteries in the development phase and was founded in Bochum in 2011 as one of the first test laboratories for electric vehicle batteries by brothers Nils and Julian Stentenbach. The foundation stone for this was laid in 2007 by the SolarCar project at Bochum University of Applied Sciences. Testing also played a key role in the development of the vehicle's battery. Fascinated by the possibilities of electrified vehicles, Nils Stentenbach recognized the potential and also the urgency of specialized testing laboratories. After his first jobs in the same field, he was motivated to found Voltavision, and he did so successfully: with currently 174 employees and growing, the company has specialized in testing cells, modules and complete battery systems for 13 years now. Voltavision is based in the technology quarter next to Bochum University and has a total of
University and has a total of 4,600 square meters of test laboratory space spread over two test centers at its headquarters and three more on the former Nokia site in Bochum-Riemke.