Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are the driving force behind economic growth, innovation and employment. 99 % of the companies in Germany are SMEs. Standardization represents a key element in the success strategy of SMEs, e.g. in finding a basis for developing innovative products, opening up new markets and gaining an edge over the competition in terms of know-how. The DKE supports small and medium-sized enterprises in this.

More than 9,000 experts constitute the basis of the DKE – without them we would not be able to fulfil our mission. Our experts use their specialist knowledge to participate actively in committees in which future standards are discussed and decided upon. They not only create safe and interoperable products and systems, but also help to open up new and international markets.

Universities have always been very important to the DKE as cooperation partners. We maintain an open dialogue with students to develop new potential and ideas. One of our main goals is to support young start-ups with our specialist knowledge because innovative projects often rely on the existence of standards in their initial phase and for their subsequent success.

Next Generation DKE is the network for all topics related to the future of standardization at DKE. Our goal is to encourage greater targeted involvement of students and young professionals in the standardization process of the DKE and its committees. We also support students in preparing their theses and dissertations in our "Science-to-Standards" programme.