Businesses, even small and medium-sized ones, often handle huge amounts of data. Ulm University and Ulm University of Applied Sciences are supporting regional companies in unearthing hidden ‘data treasures’ and harnessing the information they provide intelligently. The multidisciplinary team of researchers from both universities, together with other partners, have thus founded the Transfer Centre for Digitisation, Analytics and Data Science Ulm (DASU).
Ever-growing mountains of data accrue daily in digital factories, logistics or the service sector. The Transfer Centre DASU, a joint initiative of Ulm University and Ulm University of Applied Sciences (THU) in collaboration with the local Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), the City of Ulm as well as regional partners from the business community, helps businesses to extract valuable information from these data. Data science, especially artificial intelligence and machine learning, are great tools to deduce a multitude of recommendations for action, decisions and business models from large amounts of data. In digital factories with networked machines, for example, data science can be used to forecast and schedule maintenance works or optimise the flow of materials and goods.
In the RegioWIN 2030 competition, DASU succeeded as one of 24 ‘lighthouse projects’ and receives a total of 5.9 million euros funding over the next six years. The award-winning concept focuses on the transfer of research to small and medium-sized businesses, municipalities or educational institutions as well as data science consulting. This will be complemented by staff training offers in the areas of data science, data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. A digitisation laboratory will be set up in Ulm to test, demonstrate and visualise application-oriented solutions.
As a first step, THU and Ulm University have launched the DASU research centre, where the two university partners plan to conduct publicly-funded research projects and collaborative doctorates in the fields of data science and analytics. Synergies in teaching encompass newly established master’s programmes such as ‘Artificial Intelligence’, ‘Intelligent Systems’ and ‘Mathematical Data Science’, as well as programmes for working professionals offered by the School of Advanced Professional Studies (SAPS). ‘Utilising data science methods is the key to digital transformation. The Transfer Centre DASU will enable companies to leverage this potential with academic support,’ summarise DASU board members Professor Reinhold von Schwerin (THU), Professor Manfred Reichert and Professor Karsten Urban (both from Ulm University).
Contact: Sandra Zimmermann, Project manager DASU: sandra.zimmermann@uni-ulm.de
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The DASU Transfer Centre supports regional companies in creating knowledge and value from data (Symbolic image: Heiko Grandel)
