DKE Deutsche Kommission Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik

With over 35,000 members, including 1,300 corporate and institutional entities, and 800 employees, the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE) is one of Europe’s biggest technical and scientific associations. The VDE embraces the sciences, standardization activities and product testing under one roof. It promotes technical know-how transfers, research, and the education and training of new generations of talents in the key technologies of electrical engineering, electronics and information technology and their applications. In addition, the VDE works for safety in electrical engineering, develops recognized technical regulations and international norms, and tests and certifies devices and systems. The VDE mark, familiar to 60 percent of Germany’s population, is considered to be a symbol of the highest safety standards.

The DKE, part of VDE, develops norms and safety standards for the fields of electrical engineering, electronics and information technology. It represents German interests in the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and in the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). VDE regulations are generally based on European norms of which roughly 80 percent are the result of international standardization work at the IEC. Around 3,500 experts in business, the sciences and administration prepare VDE regulations in the DKE.

Standardization fulfills important functions in our high-tech society for manufacturers as well as consumers. High levels of product safety and quality, not to mention compatibility are just a few of the many aspects of this work for the benefit of the general public. Standardization is also a tool for facilitate bilateral trade, and remove existing barriers to trade.