The annual ITS Whitsun excursion took place again this year. In the week from 10.06. to 13.06. we enabled the students to take part in the accompanying excursion to the ITS main subject lectures "Thermal Turbomachinery" and "Hydraulic Fluid Machinery". After visiting various companies in eastern and northern Germany last year, this year's excursion took us to southern Germany. With 20 students, we visited well-known manufacturers in the turbomachinery and automotive industry in Augsburg, Bühl, Donauwörth, Heidenheim, Munich and Ravensburg.

The start of the excursion was dedicated to hydraulic turbomachinery. Our first stop took us to the Voith Group in Heidenheim. There we were given an insight into the hydraulic flow laboratory and were able to follow live test trials for individual turbines. The production steps for generator windings were presented in the electrical laboratory. We then visited Andritz Hydro in Ravensburg, where the students were able to see how water turbines are manufactured. The geometric dimensions of Francis, Kaplan and Pelton turbines left a lasting impression and amazed both students and supervisors. On the second day of the excursion, we were welcomed by Everllence (formerly MAN Energy Solutions) in Augsburg and Airbus Helicopters in Donauwörth. At Everllence, we spent the morning learning about the history of diesel engines in the company's own museum before being able to follow the individual production and assembly steps for large marine engines. From Augsburg, we continued on to Airbus Helicopters in Donauwörth in the afternoon. Once there, we gained an in-depth insight into component production with composite materials and followed the assembly steps from the individual part to the finished helicopter. Our next stop took us to MTU Aero Engines in Munich the following day, where we first visited the MTU Museum. Over 50 exhibits offered a journey through time through the development of aircraft engines with impressive exhibits such as the GP7000 engine for an Airbus A380. We were then able to take a closer look at individual production lines for blisks and various blades, for example. The end of the excursion took us back to the Baden region, to Schaeffler Automotive in Bühl. There, the students also gained an insight into development and design in the automotive industry. An exciting guided tour through the production lines of electric motors was the final highlight of the excursion.

The excursion is an important addition to the content of our lectures, offering students an insight into everyday industrial life and highlighting various career opportunities. A joint visit to the Hofbräuhaus in Munich provided a pleasant opportunity for informal discussions within the group. As in previous years, the response from the students was extremely positive.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the participating companies Voith, Andritz, Everllence, Airbus Helicopters, MTU Aero Engines and Schaeffler. Without their great support, this excursion would not have been possible!