International network
TNO-ESI is part of an international network of peer knowledge institutes and research centers. Each of them have leadership positions in methodology innovation in order to cope with the complexity of highly-digitalized systems. Each operates in different application domains which are represented by their respective industrial ecosystems.
Being part of this international network allows the continuous benchmarking of ESI’s knowledge position to remain on par with its world-leading peers.
Together, we help to set and mutually align national and international research agendas.
Furthermore, we often team up to create international project proposals within (for example) the EU context, such as Horizon Europe, ITEA and ECSEL. We also involve one other’s expertise in the running of projects when this is advantageous.
The Archimedes Initiative was founded in 2022 by four globally leading centers that conduct systems engineering research. The Archimedes Initiative creates synergies among its members by topical workshops, shared publications, joint research and exchange of knowledge and people.
These four centers are: the DLR Institute of Systems Engineering for Future Mobility in Germany, the TNO Embedded Systems Innovation (TNO-ESI) center in The Netherlands, the Systems Engineering Research Center in the U.S.A. and the Swedish Center for Trustworthy Edge Computing Systems and Applications (TECoSA) at KTH.
Many organizations practice systems engineering, but only a limited number of institutes conduct research into systems engineering principles and methodologies. Systems engineering is not to be researched in isolation but in close continuous connection with the engineering practice in the context of concrete applications. The four research centers therefore all operate in the context of an ecosystem of industries and corporations. Further, they are complementary in that they each target a different application domain. DLR works in the field of automotive and maritime mobility, ESI targets the high-tech equipment industry, SERC the defense industry and TECoSA works with the automotive, truck and aircraft industry.
The aim of the Archimedes Initiative is, among others, to accelerate the innovation in systems engineering by learning from each other’s best practices. Each application domain is facing similar challenges, but often in different orders of priority. As a result the research agendas of the centers are complimentary, and there is ample opportunity for one center to generalize and build on innovations developed earlier at one the other peer centers.
Finally, we actively promote the bringing together of the industrial networks of multiple institutes. At the System Architecture Forum (SAF), for instance, lead system architects from the industrial partners of SERC in the USA meet twice a year with colleagues from the industry partners of ESI and from other European companies. And innovation managers from the Fraunhofer IESE partners met twice a year with colleagues from the ESI industrial partners in order to exchange views on relevant themes.
Moreover, there is a growing collaboration between the ESI academy and the University of South Norway (USN).