DASU makes companies in the region fit for coping with the challenges of the future, especially for AI-based handling of Big Data. Now the Transfer Centre for Digitalisation, Analytics & Data Science Ulm has been awarded as a "lighthouse project" and will receive millions of euros in grants from the EU and the state of Baden-Württemberg. The mission: to better connect science and business in order to strengthen the international competitiveness of the Schwabenbund region.
Due to globalization, small and medium-sized companies are coming under more and more pressure to adapt. However, how can small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) succeed in this digital transformation process? The DASU - Transfer Centre for Digitalisation, Analytics & Data Science Ulm provides scientific support in this context. DASU was established in 2021 by the University of Ulm, the University of Applied Sciences Ulm (THU), the Ulm Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), and the City of Ulm. Now DASU has been awarded as a lighthouse project within the framework of the regional development concept of the Swabian Confederation and provided with funding in the millions. Money for this comes from both the EU and the state of Baden-Württemberg. Sandra Zimmermann, Managing Director of DASU, Professor Manfred Reichert, Professor von Schwerin and Professor Urban, all members of the DASU board, are correspondingly delighted.
The funding success was announced on 15 December 2022, in the Stuttgart State Parliament with the official handover of the funding decision by Economics Minister Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut. The lighthouse project is embedded in the so-called RegioWIN2030 competition of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The programme shall strengthen regional competitiveness through innovation and sustainability. The total funding amount is around 4.9 million euros, of which 3.9 million euros come from the ERDF and 980,000 euros from the Ministry of Economics, Labour and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg. "We are very pleased about this successful application. In the future, this will make it even easier for us to make companies from the region fit for the digital transformation and the disruptive challenges of our time," says Professor Manfred Reichert from the University of Ulm. The head of the Institute for Databases and Information Systems is also chairman of the DASU board.
A dedicated "Digital Lab" visualises innovative AI solutions and prototypes
"The Transfer Centre is based on close collaboration between business and science. It offers research and transfer cooperation for companies, data science consulting, but also information events and workshops on the topics of data analytics and data science," explains Professor Reinhold von Schwerin. The expert for data science and machine learning represents Ulm University of Applied Sciences (THU) on the DASU board. A "Digital Lab" will also help to visually present innovative AI solutions and prototypes and make them tangible. "With the DASU, we have created a central contact point for companies with data science and analytics issues. With the RegioWIN funding, the DASU is now being thought of on a much larger scale and is more strongly oriented towards SMEs," says Petra Engstler-Karrasch, Chief Executive Officer of the Ulm Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK).
The overarching goal of the DASU - Transfer Centre for Digitisation, Analytics & Data Science Ulm is to sustainably optimise the transfer of knowledge in order to secure the region's future viability in the long term. So that no more data treasures are lost and the regional economy remains internationally competitive. As a beacon for data-based digitalisation, DASU is showing the way here. "We would like to express our gratitude for the support of the EU and the state of Baden-Württemberg. At the same time, we see the funding as another sign that we in Ulm and the region are on the right path to successfully shaping the future," affirms Ulm's Lord Mayor Gunter Czisch.
About the DASU
The Transfer Centre for Digitisation, Analytics & Data Science Ulm (DASU) was founded in 2021 by the University of Ulm, the Ulm University of Technology (THU), the Ulm Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), and the City of Ulm as a non-profit foundation. The mission: to strengthen the transfer of knowledge between science and the companies of the entire region and to bundle and reuse resources.
The DASU works in a multidisciplinary way. The disciplines represented are computer science, mathematics/statistics, medicine and economics/engineering, as well as human factors, human-technology interaction, digital law and occupational psychology. Around 40 professors from THU and the University of Ulm are now involved in the Transfer Centre.
The foundation's basic assets of 200,000 euros were donated by the Ulm Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) and the City of Ulm. The foundation companies from the region include Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, Hensoldt Sensors, Kreissparkasse Biberach, Liebherr Digital Development Center, RAM Stiftung Ulm, Rentschler Biopharma, SWU Stadtwerke Ulm/Neu-Ulm and Wieland-Werke.