Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence celebrates grand opening

Cutting-edge AI research from North Rhine-Westphalia for Germany, Europe and the world

On September 29, 2022, the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence was inaugurated in the presence of NRW Minister-president Hendrik Wüst MdL and NRW Science Minister Ina Brandes, as well as leading stakeholders from business and academia. The new cutting-edge research institute is shaping a new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) that is powerful, sustainable, trustworthy and secure in helping to solve key challenges in business and society. The Lamarr Institute emerges from the Rhine-Ruhr ML2R Machine Learning Competence Center and is one of five university-based AI competence centers nationwide that have received permanent funding since the summer as part of the German government’s AI strategy.

“North Rhine-Westphalia is to become a hotspot for AI research. The Lamarr Institute brings us a big step closer to this goal – here, work is being done to find answers to questions about tomorrow’s mobility, innovative production processes or smart energy supply,” said Hendrik Wüst MdL, Minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the occasion of the opening of the Lamarr Institute at Schloss Birlinghoven in Sankt Augustin at the end of September. The federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia are jointly providing around 126 million euros for this purpose, initially until 2028. From North Rhine-Westphalia – with locations in Dortmund, Bonn and Sankt Augustin – internationally recognized scientists are conducting cutting-edge AI research for Germany, Europe and the world. Among other things, up to eleven new AI professorships are to be created as a result of the funding.

The aim of the researchers at the Lamarr Institute is to set new standards in the ethical research and development of extremely powerful and at the same time trustworthy and resource-saving AI. In this context, the training of the next generation of AI experts also plays a central role – from the teaching of initial AI skills in schools to scientific education and the further training of specialists in companies by the participating Fraunhofer Institutes. In this way, the work of the Lammar Institute is also intended to contribute to the transfer of research results into practical applications.

“The emergence of the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence will significantly strengthen NRW as an AI location. We look forward to jointly moving a step further, particularly in the area of technology transfer, in order to make our economy fit for the future with concrete AI applications,” says KI.NRW Managing Director Dr. Christian Temath.

For more information and additional voices on the new Lamarr Institute, as well as impressions of the opening ceremony, please see the official press release. You can follow the institute’s activities on Twitter and LinkedIn.