June 10-13, 2025, Rostock, Germany
Welcome

In 2025, the University of Rostock has the great honor of hosting the 21st International IEEE Conference on Factory Communication Systems (WFCS 2025). The WFCS is the only IEEE conference dedicated specifically to communication for industrial automation systems. It will take place in Rostock for the first time.
The conference will be hosted by Institute of Applied Microelectronics and Computer Engineering (IMD) of the University of Rostock (Germany) and organized in collaboration with Institute of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering CNR-IEIIT (Italy). The WFCS is supported by IEEE and IES and coordinated by the IEEE TC on Factory Automation. The local organizers University of Rostock, Faculty of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and IMD invite all interested parties to participate in this exciting event and exchange ideas with international experts.
The conference will take place between June 11 and 13, 2025 in the main building of the university in the heart of the city of Rostock, Universitätsplatz 1
The tutorial day will take place on June 10, 2025 in Rostock at the Institute of Applied Microelectronics, Albert-Einstein-Str. 26.
WFCS 2025 Presentation
Venue
The conference will take place in the Aula, Main Building of the University of Rostock, Universitätsplatz 1, 18055 Rostock.
The tutorial day will take place on June 10, 2025 in Rostock at the Institute of Applied Microelectronics (IMD), Albert-Einstein-Str. 26. 18059 Rostock. See picture at the top.
Important note, especailly for the participants of the tutorial day: The Main University Building is in the city center and the Institute is located at the Campus South (Süd"). The institute is reachable by foot and by tram from the city center and the various hotel. Walking distance ~20-30 min.
How to reach us
The WFCS conference will be held at the main building of the University of Rostock, located in the historic center of the Hanseatic City. You can travel to Rostock by plane, train, bus, car or even by ship and use Rostock's versatile public transport to explore the city and get to your accommodation or the conference venue.
By plane
The nearest international airports are Hamburg (IATA code HAM) and Berlin (IATA code BER), both offering a wide range of domestic and international destinations. From there, onward travel to Rostock can be conveniently made by train. Berlin Airport has direct intercity trains to Rostock every two hours, with no transfers required. For late arrivals in Berlin, the intercity bus from Berlin Airport to Rostock is also available, which can save you from an additional overnight stay in Berlin. Please note that the regional airport of Rostock primarily serves charter flights and does not offer regular connection
By train
As the largest city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rostock is easily accessible by train. For a seamless journey to the WFCS 2025 venue or your hotel, consider Deutsche Bahn's City Ticket option, which includes local public transport within Rostock. For more information and booking, please visit Deutsche Bahn.
By intercity bus
Intercity bus services, primarily operated by Flixbus, offer direct routes to many cities across Germany and Europe. Rostock's central bus terminal (ZOB) is conveniently located near the main train station (Hauptbahnhof, Hbf), providing easy access to local public transport.
By car
Rostock is situated near the junction of the A19 and A20 motorways, providing excellent connectivity to various destinations: south to Berlin, west to Lübeck and Hamburg, and east to Stralsund, the island of Rügen, and Szczecin in Poland. For easy navigation to the conference venue or your hotel, you can use online map services like Google Maps or Bing Maps to plan your route efficiently.
By ferry
If you are traveling from Scandinavia, you can reach Rostock by taking one of the ferry lines that operate at the Port of Rostock, including Scandlines, StenaLine, and TT-Line. Public transport is available to take you from the port into the city.
Exploring the city by public transport
Rostock offers an extensive public transport network, including suburban trains (S-Bahn), multiple tram lines, ferries, and several bus and night bus routes. Many lines converge at Rostock Hauptbahnhof, while others connect at various interchanges across the city. The night bus routes, F1 and F2 (nicknamed "Fledermaus"), meet at Saarplatz, ensuring 24-hour mobility throughout Rostock.
The city’s transport services are part of the public transport association Verkehrsverbund Warnow (VVW). All VVW members share the same ticket system, allowing easy transfers between trains, trams, buses, and ferries without needing to purchase a new ticket for each change. Journey planning within Rostock is easy with the VVW web app, and a complete map of routes and tariff zones is available on the VVW website.
Tickets can be purchased at suburban train stations or on board most trams and buses. Tickets bought on vehicles usually are pre-validated, whereas tickets from ticket machines require stamping before use.
We recommend using mobile ticketing apps for a seamless travel experience in Rostock. Deutsche Bahn customers may find it convenient to use the DB Navigator app to manage both local and long-distance tickets in one place. Alternatively, the VVW mobile ticketing app offers some additional features for local travel making it a versatile tool beyond ride planning and ticketing.
Getting to the conference venue
Closest to the main building of the University of Rostock lies the tram stop "Lange Straße". It's frequently served by tram lines 1, 4, 5 and 6 as well as night bus F1, covering large parts of the city.
Coming from tram stop "Lange Straße", you can follow the street "Breite Straße" south until you reach the square "Universitätsplatz" at the fountain "Brunnen der Lebensfreude".
Contact
For more information, please contact the general chairs Frank Golatowski and Stefano Scanzio.