Optimisation in the car factory - Dr Thorben Krüger receives IWA prize for his dissertation

Jena / Frankfurt (Oder), 

On 13 June 2025, the Initiative Wissenschaft und Automobilindustrie (IWA) awarded Dr Thorben Krüger for his dissertation entitled "Short-term master production scheduling in the automotive industry: model-based optimization and decision support", which he wrote at the Viadrina. In it, Krüger developed an optimisation model for automotive production. The thesis was supervised by Prof Dr Achim Koberstein.

Thorben Krüger saw the award ceremony at the University of Jena as a reward for his many years of work. "I worked on my dissertation for over six years, with all the ups and downs that go with it. This award therefore means a lot to me and emphasises once again that I was right to keep at it and keep going." The award from the Initiative Wissenschaft und Automobilindustrie (IWA) is endowed with 1,000 euros and honours particularly successful work at the interface of theory and practice every two years, where mathematical methods are put to practical use.

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Dr Thorben Krüger (2nd from left) with his doctoral supervisor Prof Dr Achim Koberstein (2nd from right) at the award ceremony with Prof Dr Nils Boysen (left) and Prof Dr Armin Scholl (right) from the IWA Association.

Thorben Krüger found this interface between Volkswagen in Wolfsburg and the Viadrina. In 2017, after studying industrial engineering at the TU Braunschweig, he started as a doctoral student at Volkswagen. At the Viadrina, he was supervised by Prof Dr Achim Koberstein, holder of the Professorship of Business Administration, in particular Business Informatics & Operations Research. Together with him, he published several articles with a very practical focus. For example, he analysed various constraints in car production and their effects on each other. From this, Krüger has developed equations that help to take this influence into account in production planning. (To the paper "Anticipating technical car sequencing rules in the master production scheduling of mixed-model assembly lines") In another paper, Krüger and Koberstein develop a model that reacts to disruptions in a factory and adjusts the production programme to ensure optimal operation.

"Thorben Krüger received the award for his further development of production programme planning at Volkswagen, which can solve problem instances for up to 1000 vehicles through clever modelling and incorporates practically relevant delivery delays into the planning," said Prof. Dr. Nils Boysen, Deputy Chairman of the IWA Association, explaining the award.

Even after completing his dissertation in 2024, Krüger combines theoretical knowledge with practical implementation. As an expert in process simulation at Volkswagen AG, he and his team support the planning of factories. "My focus is on the simulation of in-house logistics," he says, describing his role.

Thorben Krüger looks back fondly on his doctoral studies at the Viadrina and emphasises the warm and helpful support he received. "I had a very close dialogue with Achim Koberstein, in which we repeatedly discussed and worked on specialist topics. Through the exchange with other doctoral students, I know that this is not a matter of course," says Krüger.

Translated by DeepL and edited

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