Offset Printing
Upcoming IT Talents Develop Quality Assurance Algorithm for Banknote Printing
Friday 06. August 2010 - As a promoter of IT talent, security company Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) invited nine finalists in the German National Computer Science Competition (BWINF) to attend the G&D Action Week for IT Talents in Munich. Throughout the week, the participants from all over Germany tinkered with a complex algorithm designed to calculate the next valid serial number of banknotes for the mechanical quality check carried out during banknote production.
The G&D Action Week was an opportunity for lively interaction between the talented IT youngsters and the company’s banknote specialists. Even Dr. Walter Schlebusch, Member of the G&D Management Board, could not resist getting to know the participants’ personally and finding out firsthand about their ideas and the results of their work. “Both our specialists and I personally were especially impressed by the structured approach the young people took to the complex tasks they had to solve,” said ‘talent scout’ Schlebusch after meeting with the finalists, who were aged 17 to 20.
The topic of this year’s Action Week was to develop an algorithm for banknote processing machines that would calculate the serial number of the banknote which, after printing, would be checked next. What makes the task so complex is the many aspects of the banknote printing process that G&D’s customers handle in different ways. As a result, the parameters used to calculate the serial number differ from one banknote printer to another, and generally depend on what technology is used to print the numbers and how the paper sheets are cut. The participants rounded off the Action Week by testing their algorithm on a banknote processing machine just like the ones G&D supplies to its customers around the world.
The nine young IT specialists were among the 28 who made it to the final round of the German National Computer Science Competition (BWINF) and who had already got to know each other at the German IT Skills Summit (IT-Hochburg Deutschland) in October 2009. The German IT Skills Summit is a project of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is supported by leading IT companies through a sponsorship program. Under this program, G&D is responsible for looking after seven of the nine young people who took part in the Action Week, giving them a real feel for the interesting fields of work available within the IT industry through various programs and activities. Above and beyond this, G&D places great emphasis on maintaining its contacts with talented young IT specialists.
The company plays an active part in the training and education of young people, with initiatives including classical vocational training, so-called “dual training” courses that alternate study periods with on-the-job training, and an international trainee program for graduates. What is more, G&D regularly throws open its doors to the nationwide Girls Day, which this year was marked by a visit from Christine Haderthauer, the Bavarian state minister for Employment and Social Order, Family and Women.
G&D is also a member of the association “Wissensfabrik – Unternehmen für Deutschland e.V.,” an open platform for German companies, educational institutions and initiatives wishing to promote and share knowledge. One of this association’s main points of focus is early childhood education and cooperation with kindergartens and primary schools.
Another key area of interest to the company is the work-life balance. For the third time running, G&D was successfully audited by the berufundfamilie organization and awarded a certificate, a hallmark that it offers its staff a new balance between working and family life.