The learning platform RELOAD - A Semantic-based Knowledge Platform for Knowledge Updating of Employees in the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Industry was awarded the International E-Learning Award / Business Division in the category “Blended Learning" during the International Conference on E-Learning in the Workplace (ICELW) 2011 which took place between the 8th and 10th June in New York. The awards are given annually by the International E-Learning Association (IELA). The target of the Project RELOAD was to develop an e-learning concept which updates knowledge and competences of employees in the DIY Industry continuously and efficiently. The learning and knowledge platform which was developed between 2008 and 2010 in the course of the EU program of lifelong learning (Leonardo da Vinci) was based on short learning units, so called "Microtrainings" which are connected to customizable learning paths by means of a semantic knowledge network. During the 26 months of the project the learning and knowledge platform contained a multimedia learning unit and was integrated into the daily working processes. The IMA/ZLW & IfU coordinated the EU project and developed the learning and knowledge platform in cooperation with an international project consortium of DIY market chains, manufacturers, universities, organizations and contractors.

The institute cluster IMA/ZLW & IfU was awarded the second place in the category “Academic Blended Learning” of the "2010 International e-Learning Awards" for the “Web 2.0 Knowledge Map” which was developed for the purpose of university education on the 17th of September 2010. The award was presented by “The International E-Learning Association (iELA)” during the Interactive Computer Aided Learning (ICL 2010) Conference which took place between the 15th and 17th of September 2010 in Hasselt, Belgium.
The knowledge map is a supporting learning tool and is applied in the lecture “Informatics in Mechanical Engineering” by more than 1400 students a year.