On October 7th, ScaDS.AI Dresden/Leipzig opened a Graduate School and a Living Lab together with Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow in Leipzig. With this, our center also starts operating its new premises in Löhrs Carré Leipzig with space for more than 100 employees as well as several AI professorships.

“With today’s opening of the ScaDS.AI Graduate School and the ScaDS.AI Living Lab, two important pillars of our research center are strengthened. On the one hand, the training and strengthening of young scientists and, on the other hand, the promotion of a broad dialogue about AI and Data Science research in society,” says Prof. Dr. Erhard Rahm, scientific director of ScaDS.AI at the University of Leipzig. Sebastian Gemkow was also on site today to get an impression of the Living Lab.

“Artificial Intelligence is a key technology that will develop a significant impact on our living and working environments in the coming years. In order to keep Saxon research into AI methods and applications competitive on a global scale and to be able to develop an innovative edge, concrete investments in research infrastructure are also needed. With the support of the Free State, one of five federal AI competence centers will therefore be established in Saxony starting next year. The University of Leipzig and TU Dresden are tackling this challenge together with many non-university research institutions and other partners. Living Lab and Graduate School are important pillars in this process because they make the development of the competence center visible and underpin the overall social and strategic importance of this technology for Germany and Europe.”

Targeted support for young researchers

The Graduate School Data Science will start in the winter semester of 2021/2022 and aims to promote PhD students in the fields of Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data and actively support them in their doctoral studies. The young researchers will learn important skills of academic practice and qualify for excellent scientific achievements in their field. AI research is diverse and offers room for generalists and experts. The graduate school therefore combines structured doctoral studies with instruments for individual support. Close cooperation with the Research Academy of the University of Leipzig plays an important role, as the courses offered by its Competence School provide important building blocks for the training.

Living Lab is both a laboratory and a forum

At the same time, the emerging Living Lab for AI and Data Science was opened today. It is a lively, multi-faceted event venue, exhibition space, teaching and education center and laboratory all at once. The Lab offers the public a space to discover and talk about current research with researchers. Above all, it aims to promote open dialogue about AI and Data Science in society. Practical and everyday problems as well as questions in dealing with new digital technologies should be in the focus as well as innovative approaches for economy and industry.

ScaDS.AI as one of five new centers for Artificial Intelligence in Germany

Our competence center ScaDS.AI integrates the expertise of the University of Leipzig, TU Dresden and ten non-university research institutions in the fields of AI, Big Data and Data Science. The scientists research scalable and trustworthy machine learning methods and transfer them into economic and scientific applications, among others in medicine and geosciences. ScaDS.AI is funded within the framework of the federal government’s AI strategy, supported by the Free State of Saxony and is to be established as a permanent institution with annual funding of up to 20 million.

Press releases about the event:

• https://www.uni-leipzig.de/newsdetail/artikel/beste-voraussetzungen-in-der-ki-forschung-geschaffen-2021-10-07/
• https://tu-dresden.de/tu-dresden/newsportal/news/beste-voraussetzungen-in-der-ki-forschung-geschaffen
• https://www.medienservice.sachsen.de/medien/news/1028579