Siemens Healthineers has opened its new Education & Development Center (EDC) in Erlangen. The open-plan building offers space for the currently 240 trainees and integrated degree programme participants in Erlangen and Forchheim. In addition, the new centre houses training courses for customers and in-house specialists around 150 participants and users can be trained daily on medical devices.

The EDC is an extension of the existing education and training centre with Erlangen being one of the company’s three global training centres and the central location for education in Germany with a focus on IT, electronics and business administration. Investing in in-house training is a building block in Siemens Healthineers’ strategy to counteract the predicted shortage of skilled workers. The construction period of the building was three years with an investment of about €60 million.

“We want to continue to be one of the most attractive employers in the region and in Germany. Lifelong learning for our employees is our focus. That’s why we invest in high-quality training opportunities in an appealing working environment that benefit customers and employees alike. Erlangen and the region is and will remain a global hotspot for innovative medical technology,” said Elisabeth Staudinger, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens Healthineers, at the official opening. The training and further education centre was built according to the latest construction standards and is to be awarded the “LEED Gold” sustainability certificate.

The building is located in the “Siemens Healthineers Quarter” in the north of Erlangen. Due to the proximity to production, a close integration between practical and theoretical training is ensured. The 11,000 sqm of space of the EDC are spread over seven floors and has among others, ten fully functional magnetic resonance imaging scanners and two angiography systems for training purposes. A photon-counting computed tomograph of the latest generation is also housed in the building. In addition, five large training rooms offer space for virtual courses with cameras and state-of-the-art transmission technology. Siemens Healthineers also offers digital training with the support of VR glasses or simulators. In the training areas on the upper floors there are five electrical laboratories, a technical project room and four further training rooms. Siemens Healthineers offers apprenticeships for commercial and technical professions as well as integrated degree programmes in the business, IT and technical fields.