After the welcoming speeches by HNU President Prof. Dr. Uta M. Feser and Prof. Dr. Philipp Brune, Scientific Project Manager of the AI Transfer Plus Regional Center North Swabia, State Minister Dr. Fabian Mehring addressed the guests and was impressed by the AI Regional Center North Swabia: "The potential of AI is enormous - not only for global corporations, but also and especially for Bavaria's SMEs. With the AI Regional Center at HNU, we are bringing Bavaria's concentrated expertise on AI to the heart of Bavaria's SMEs. HNU and its partners act as an excellent transmission belt to harness the opportunities of digitalization for local companies. Together, we are igniting the AI turbo for SMEs in the region."
The brief presentation of the program by Annabel Schwenda, Senior Marketing Manager at appliedAI Initiative GmbH, was followed by a question and answer session with managing directors of three companies participating in the program. Schwarzer Reise- und Verkehrsbüro from Nördlingen, SWMP Steuerberatungsgesellschaft from Augsburg and Ulrich Reitenberger Bau GmbH from Laugna - Asbach have already started and would like to use AI to support and streamline their processes in times of a shortage of skilled workers and increase the innovation potential of their companies.
HNU President Prof. Dr. Uta M. Feser is delighted about the kick-off of the project: "We are proud that the State Ministry for Digitalization has chosen the universities of applied sciences and their technology transfer centers for the roll-out of its AI Transfer Plus programme. Because only together can we put the necessary horsepower on the road to address the major issues of the future and make a lasting difference."
About the project
In the KI-Transfer Plus program funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Digital Affairs, HNU bundles the expertise from the two technology transfer centers AI and Data Analytics in Günzburg and Smart Production and Logistics in Leipheim in the AI Regional Center North Swabia. The project is aimed in particular at small and medium-sized companies that have little experience in dealing with AI. Support is provided by the AI regional centers, while the project is coordinated and designed by appliedAI Initiative GmbH, Europe's largest initiative for the application of trustworthy AI technology. There are a total of eight AI regional centers in Bavaria.
AI implementation in nine months
The targeted knowledge building and development of a holistic AI strategy enables companies to implement their own AI use case within nine months - from the potential analysis to the identification of economic AI use cases, the preparation of the change process in the company through to implementation. There is the opportunity to get to know and adapt existing AI tools or to train an AI system yourself.
Günzburg's District Administrator Hans Reichhart had words of praise: "The project is the result of hard work and many discussions. Many minds and ideas are now coming together here at Areal Pro: The HNU as a strong partner with the Systems Engineering cooperative study program and the TTZ with the new KI-Transfer Plus program as well as the start-ups in the digital start-up center. This is exactly what sets us apart, together we are taking the district of Günzburg even further forward."
Companies can currently apply online for the next program start in September 2024 via www.ki-transfer-plus.de .
