Christoph RUNDE

Christoph RUNDE With more than 25 years of industry experience, Christoph Runde is one of the pioneers in the field of professional systems and applications of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). After starting his career at Porsche, he joined the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) in 1999, where he led the institute’s activities in VR/AR. In 2006 he achieved a Ph.D. degree with his thesis on “Conception and industrial implementation of virtual reality as a digital factory building-block“. From 2007 on he developed the Virtual Dimension Center (VDC) to one of the biggest and most successful cluster initiatives for VR/AR in Europe. Under Christoph’s leadership, the VDC was decorated with the European Cluster Management Excellence Label GOLD (2013, 2016, 2019, 2021) and numerous awards for its innovation capabilities and its quality of services. Christoph’s expertise is in demand by governmental bodies and VC funds, which he supports as an advisor. In parallel to his position as director of VDC, Christoph acts as the Vice President for Industry of the European Virtual Reality Association (EuroVR). In 2017 Christoph was awarded with an honorary professorship by the Heilbronn University.