“Further steps in technology development will be a key contribution to tackle global challenges such as climate change, limitations in the availability of skilled labor, water supply or nutrition on a global level. Competencies in STEM are crucial to advance our society and to ensure the future of our planet,” Franke said. “I always wanted to create a strategic impact and implement systematic improvements with a long-term benefit. I feel that I can leverage my contribution in a leadership role by bringing the whole team behind the idea.”
Franke has an experienced career in industrial engineering. She studied design and production engineering at the University of Saarland, in Saarbrücken, Germany, and spent a year abroad in Sweden working as a research assistant to the chair of production engineering at the university. She completed her dissertation in the field of “Process Chain Planning in the Digital Factory,” in December 2003. Her Ph.D. thesis focused on connecting data in the digital factory.
“Industry 4.0 is a topic that I have a long-grown interest in. At Bosch, I started my career in a powertrain plant, producing parts for combustion engines. As the automotive industry started its transformation in the powertrain, I wanted to contribute to that,” Franke said.
Franke started her professional career at Bosch Group as a trainee in June 2004. Focused on managing manufacturing and quality assurance, she helped set up manufacturing at the powertrain plant in Wuxi, China, from 2011 to 2015.
She said her first leadership role at the Bosch plant in China was a challenging experience. “Coming from a scientific environment at university, with a fresh Ph.D. degree and then taking over responsibility for shop-floor operations in a quite traditional plant environment and being the only woman in the team at the same time and working in China for more than four years in a leadership role in operations and technology development have given me a very valuable perspective on leadership in such a dynamic, fast-changing culture,” Franke said.
Her experience at the powertrain plant also taught her to embrace change. “Quick change is a constant factor in all dimensions of life in China. People are very flexible, fast at implementing ideas and, at the same time, very ambitious. I have always been very impressed by the speed at which China has developed, and it was fascinating to experience it myself,” Franke said.
In 2017, she became the head of technical project purchasing and commercial and off-road vehicles for powertrain solutions in the central purchasing division of the Bosch Group. In 2019, she took on responsibility for research and advanced engineering for the corporate sector. In her current role at Bosch, she develops the products and go-to-market approaches for autonomous mobile robots, conveyor systems, manual workplaces and special tightening equipment that customers use to assemble products.
She hopes to be a female role model in STEM to show young women what different career paths they can take. Her advice for other women going into automation or engineering is to be courageous and believe in your capabilities. “There are so many different tasks and roles that you can take on with a STEM background; take your time to find the path that suits you best,” Franke said. “Events like WomenPower provide the perfect platform for that. From my experience, mentoring adds to that by providing a trusting 1:1 relationship in which experience and advice can be shared and almost all questions can be asked. When one of my mentees has to make a decision about a specific next career step, I always make time for a quick phone call or virtual meeting to discuss options.”
Franke also tries to increase the visibility of women in engineering by giving guest lectures at universities and engaging in Bosch development programs and the company internal women’s network.
Franke said she has not had one single mentor as a guide during her entire career, but many—all men—encouraged her, shared their perspectives on industry topics and helped her cope with frustration. “I try to give this back as mentor for the upcoming generation of female leaders in STEM,” Franke said.
She did have a prominent role model in her family that inspired her STEM career in the first place. Her uncle, an electrical engineer, gave her and her male cousin the same guidance and the same Christmas presents: construction kits and a smoldering iron. “It stuck with me until university and with my cousin, who works as an electrical engineer today,” Franke said.
