CV

Ms. Jivka Ovtcharova, born 1957 in Bulgaria, has since 2003 the position of C4 Professor of Computer Applications in Planning and Construction. She is also head of the Institute of Information Management in Engineering (IMI) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Furthermore, she is Director for Process and Data Management in Engineering in the field of Intelligent Systems and Production Engineering at the Research Center for Information Technology (FZI) in Karlsruhe.
Ms. Ovtcharova studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University in Sofia as well as thermal energy at the Institute of Energy in Moscow. She passed the diploma of engineering with distinction. In 1982 she started working as research associate at the Bulgarian Academy of Science in Sofia. 1987 she moved with a doctoral studies grant to Darmstadt where she worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research (Fraunhofer IGD) until 1996. During that time she was project manager in the field of industrial applications with the focus on CAD and feature-based design.
In 1992 she received the doctor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Sofia, and in 1996 she received the doctor’s degree in computer science at the Technical University of Darmstadt.
From 1996 to 1998 she was responsible for the individual production in the field of human modelling at Tecmath in Kaiserslautern/Germany and from 1998 to 2003 she headed the Process and Integration Center of General Motors Europe at the International Technical Development Center of Adam Opel GmbH in Rüsselsheim/Germany.
Ms. Ovtcharova’s main interests in teaching and research are the use of IT in mechanical engineering, virtual engineering, product lifecycle management, knowledge management, product service systems, feedback management as well as energy efficiency management, which are the basis of a consequent holistic approach of the IT and process integration in several engineering applications.
In context with her assignment Ms. Ovtcharova founded the Lifecycle Engineering Solutions Center (LESC) at KIT as a unique interdisciplinary facility for teaching, research, transfer and communication in the area of virtual engineering. Since 2008 LESC represents an interactive studying technique as well as a holistic development and training environment from single workplace up to immersive large-scale projections.
Besides tasks as equal opportunity commissioner and member of the university senate and member of the board of FZI Jivka Ovtcharova was speaker of the KIT-wide sphere of competence “Systems and Processes” and member of the KIT-Council for Research and Support of Young Scientists (CRYS)”. Since 2005 she coordinates the education in mechanical engineering and computer science at the Faculty of German Engineer and Business Administration Education (FDIBA) at TU Sofia. Since 2007 she is member of the Scientific Council. 2009 she was called as advisor of the European Centre for Women and Technology (ECWT). She is member of numerous committees, such as the Scienfic Society for Product Development (WiGeP), the IFP TC 5 WG Computer Aided Innovation, the BMWi Technology Programme Autonomik regarding “Good Work in Industry 4.0” as well as of the Network Top Women in Committees. Furthermore, she also works as an expert for the European Commission, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the German Research Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the German Academic Exchange Service.
Ms. Ovtcharova is author of more than 250 scientific and technical publications. She revised more than 20 dissertations as first reviewer and got numerous grants for teaching and research such as the nomination as honorary doctor of TU Sofia in 2011, the foundation award “Wissen + Kompetenzen” (Knowledge and Competences) 2013, the Demographic Excellence Award for the project QWIn50+ together with the German Aerospace Academy (ASA), the Best Paper Award of the International Conference Virtual and Augmented Reality in Education (CVARE) 2013 as well as of the Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments (EGVE) 2013.