Ralf Stetter studied mechanical engineering, study direction design and development, at the University of Technology Munich (TUM) with study parts at the University of Vermont (UVM) and the Oregon State University (ORST). He developed his doctoral thesis "method implementation in integrated development" at the department of product development of the University of Technology Munich (TUM) in cooperation with Webasto SE, Gauting-Stockdorf. He was team leader in the development automotive interiors at Audi AG, Ingolstadt. He is Professor for Design and Development in Automotive Technology at Ravensburg-Weingarten University (RWU), is director of international affairs of the department of mechanical engineering and is project leader at Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Automotive Systems (STAS), Ravensburg.