During PhD fellowships, students split their time between Volkswagen and their dissertation work, with placements at the Innovation Hub, Volkswagen’s Engineering and Planning Center, or the Battery Engineering Lab in Chattanooga. Volkswagen and UT representatives are also developing a strategic partnership to further increase research, education, and internship cooperation in Knoxville and Chattanooga.
The strengthened Volkswagen-UT alliance highlights the potential for industry-academic partnerships to drive innovation. By providing students access to real-world challenges and technologies at major companies, and companies exposure to new ideas and talent at universities, collaborations can accelerate progress on shared goals like vehicle electrification and efficiency.
UT Interim President Randy Boyd said in a statement, “Partnerships like this one with Volkswagen are transforming the way universities cultivate talent and advance knowledge…We are educating students for jobs that do not yet exist, and this collaboration helps ensure we are preparing students for successful careers.”
