The power of teamwork
After completing an apprenticeship as automation specialist in a small Fribourg-based company and earning his Federal Vocational Baccalaureate at the Vocational School of Fribourg (EMF), Philip Kessler signed up for the Bachelor’s program in Mechanical Engineering at the School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg (HEIA-FR). From this period, he fondly recalls the convivial atmosphere between professors and students and the unique experience of participating in the Eurobot robotics project. “At first I saw the Eurobot competition as an opportunity to carry out a particularly concrete and applied semester project. But quickly, it quickly became more than that. I realized the importance of working with others to solve problems and to find the best solutions.”
Mr. Kessler encountered a similar culture of collaboration when he joined the iPrint institute at the end of this studies. Initially he worked on applied mechanics, focusing on developing platforms, creating assemblies and implementing various mechanical operations for inkjet technology. But he was quickly entrusted with other responsibilities, including team management, work schedules and project budgets. “The work atmosphere at iPrint is very stimulating: employees are assigned tasks that suit them best, challenge them and foster their personal development”. In 2022, Mr. Kessler added to his professional education by completing a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) degree in Industry 4.0 at the Zürich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
The importance of teamwork in innovation
For Philip Kessler, two of the strengths of the iPrint institute are the continuous pipeline of new ideas and the centrality of collaboration: “To build a team, you need to be able to have regular exchanges, to openly discuss all ideas—both good and bad—, and to experience key moments together, whether those moments are successes or setbacks.” To move projects closer and closer to concreteness, teams have to share the will to learn together. “To sell your idea to other team members, you have to be very concrete and open about its pertinence and about the resources that need to be mobilized. This has to happen before research projects or student projects are launched,” he concludes.
From doing research to launching products
In recent years at iPrint, Philip Kessler has been involved in numerous projects. The one that left the deepest mark was the XPrint project, whose goal was the creation of a printer for secure documents in partnership with the world leader in this domain, IXLA. The project stood out for aiming at industrialization—a first for the institute—while adhering to a strict timeframe. Today, the machine is on the market and feedback is pouring in, both in terms of suggestions for improvement and of proposals for further scientific research and new partnerships. All of which brings a smile to the face of the project leader.
In June 2024, Philip Kessler is kicking off a new phase of his career by moving to the “other end” of the product development process. He will join Fribourg-based Polytype—an important iPrint partner from its inception—, where he will focus on bringing to market many of the projects being developed at iPrint.
