December 16, 2021

As one of 54 projects nationwide, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA) will receive funding of nearly 2 million euros for its "Artificial Intelligence in the Engineering Sciences" project, the Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz – GWK) announced at the end of November 2021.  With the funding initiative, the federal and state governments, together with selected universities, are striving, among other things, to qualify future academic specialists for the key technology of AI. With the help of the funding, HKA will establish a Bachelor's degree program in Artificial Intelligence over the next two years that combines classical engineering know-how with AI. The faculties of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology as well as Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics are pooling their expertise for this purpose and are working together on the design and implementation of the degree program, which will start in the winter semester of 2023/24.

By establishing a stand-alone Bachelor's degree program in Artificial Intelligence, HKA aims to meet the specific need for skilled workers in industry and contribute to securing the economic performance of the state and the federal government. Integrated study projects, practical semesters and final theses are intended to enable the transfer of AI know-how to industry while students are still studying. "Artificial intelligence can be used to significantly increase the overall plant effectiveness of an industrial company, but it is not a substitute for the human factor," says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Philipp Nenninger, professor of automation technology at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and head of the project. "On the contrary – industry's call for specialists with hybrid skills, i.e. engineers with solid digitization know-how, is getting louder and louder. Specialists will have to decide for specific applications whether AI technologies or conventional methods are more suitable, or whether the two can be combined in a target-oriented manner."

"Universities of applied sciences offer particular potential for this task," says Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Angelika Altmann-Dieses, Vice-President for Academic and International Affairs at HKA. "The lecturers combine practical experience and teaching expertise, and students are involved in cooperation, application and development projects with companies. We will establish the topic of Artificial Intelligence as one of the focus areas that define the profile of HKA by training engineers with expertise and application competence."

In the "Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education" funding initiative, the federal and state governments are providing up to around 133 million euros. For example, universities will receive support in developing courses of study or individual modules in the field of Artificial Intelligence. On the other hand, universities are being supported in the design of AI-supported learning and examination environments.

Funding is being provided for 40 individual and 14 collaborative projects involving 52 universities. In total, 81 universities benefit from the funding initiative.