Activities
In its activities and offerings, KI.NRW unites the triad of cutting-edge research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
In doing so, we place people and their ethical principles at the center of shaping artificial intelligence.
Economy
Efficient technology transfer
As a central networking initiative in the field of artificial intelligence for the federal state of NRW, it is our concern to bundle, strengthen and further develop competencies in the field of AI. An essential factor is to closely interlink science and industry to achieve an efficient and application-oriented technology transfer. Since its foundation, KI.NRW has already closely networked numerous NRW-based companies with universities, colleges and research institutions and initiated application-oriented projects. For a comprehensive overview of the AI ecosystem in NRW and possible networking options, visit our interactive »AI.Map«.
KI.NRW also provides companies with a portfolio of specific offers to help them get started on their journey into the world of AI. This includes the »AI.Kick-off«, an entertaining introductory presentation in which employees learn about the meaning of terms such as AI, machine learning or deep learning and what opportunities and challenges are associated with them. In our »AI Design Sprint™« workshop format, employees use their practical knowledge to find concrete AI solutions for their own use cases together with our AI experts. And in the »AI.Shadowing«, our AI experts even visit your company to uncover individual AI use cases at your site and offer to prepare the implementation of the most relevant use case.
Excellent Research
Networking and competence bundling
With its office at one of Europe’s leading research institutes in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Fraunhofer IAIS in Sankt Augustin, KI.NRW is at the center of a strong network of research and technology transfer. There are close cooperations with leading institutions in research and teaching in NRW – including the Universities of Excellence Bonn and Aachen with the joint »Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology« (b-it), the Clusters of Excellence it’s OWL, the Technical University Dortmund, the IZMD Wuppertal and the universities Bielefeld and Paderborn.
KI.NRW is continuously expanding its strategic network and is cooperating with important initiatives at state, federal and EU level. For instance, there is intensive cooperation with the »LAMARR Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence«, the initiative »AI4EU – A European AI On-Demand Platform and Ecosystem« or the AI service center »West AI«.
The focus of our networking activities in research is the KI.NRW flagship initiative. KI.NRW flagships are highly innovative and application-oriented AI lighthouse projects funded by the federal state of NRW. They include individual and joint projects from various sectors, such as mobility, logistics, production, and health.
Society
Focus on the human being
One aspect of North Rhine-Westphalia’s digital strategy is a responsible approach to the development and handling of artificial intelligence which always focuses on people. KI.NRW takes up this aspect and establishes it as an essential basis for all activities in education, in support of the economy or in research.
The AI Assessment Catalog for the certification of artificial intelligence developed in the KI.NRW flagship project »CERTIFIED AI« also relies on the human-centered approach, is oriented along existing guard rails, and aims to strengthen public trust in AI applications.
The »AI.Worlds«, an interactive browser tool in which users can navigate through virtual living and working environments to explore where AI can already be used today, also pay tribute to this. In the spirit of social education and awareness, KI.NRW also regularly tours the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia with exciting exhibits and thus brings the topic of artificial intelligence directly to the citizens.
Qualification
Lifelong Digital Learning
A successful AI strategy in companies should also specifically consider the training of employees. One important focus of KI.NRW’s activities is therefore the development of competencies with the aim of positioning the state of NRW as a leading region for vocational and further training. On our AI.Map, we display numerous opportunities for further training in NRW.
Since August 2023, we have been pushing this effort together with strong partners in the newly founded »AI Village« – an AI innovation campus in Hürth. In doing so, we are also building on the successful Fraunhofer education initiative »Roberta«, a program for teaching digital skills in schools throughout Germany and internationally, which has already reached more than 450,000 young people. In the context of KI.NRW, the Roberta team is expanding the initiative to include vocational and further training.
More information
More information about KI.NRW and a general overview of our offers and event formats can be found here. We provide information about current activities of KI.NRW and other actors from the North Rhine-Westphalian AI ecosystem in our newsletter and on LinkedIn.