Anja Braun

Anja Braun is a Professor at Reutlingen University in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. Her work focuses on Circular Economy, Material Efficiency, and Industry 4.0 integration in production systems. She leads research initiatives like accelerateKI and collaborates with Fraunhofer IPA and SMEs.

• Professor of Production Management (since 2017)
• PhD (Dr.-Ing.) in Industrial Engineering, University of Stuttgart (2016)
• Founder of a startup
• Former lecturer at Reutlingen University
• Project manager at Fraunhofer IPA
• International Reporting specialist at PERI GmbH

Her research bridges Artificial Intelligence with sustainable manufacturing, creating frameworks for circular supply chains, material efficiency, and collaborative business models. Recent work includes developing learning modules for circular economy education and AI-driven product return process optimization.

Key trends in her 15 most recent publications (2020-2024) show a focus on machine learning applications, digital twins, and interconnected value creation systems. These works address challenges in SME contexts, workforce integration, and technology adoption for sustainable production.

She actively develops Industry 4.0 roadmaps and co-creates material efficiency strategies through projects like Werk150's Circular Production Systems and 5G-based solutions for SMEs. Her lab work emphasizes human-robot collaboration and data-driven optimization in manufacturing environments.