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The FIP Management reviewed the results achieved thus far and discussed further development

The FIP Management reviewed the results achieved thus far and discussed further development
The Advisory Board meeting of the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform for Applied Artificial Intelligence for Materials & Manufacturing took place at VSB - Technical University of Ostrava in early March. During the meeting the team reviewed what has already been achieved and outlined plans for the upcoming phases.

The participants agreed, among other things, on the need to develop cooperation with academic and commercial partners as well as the necessity to further increase the visibility of the platform.

One of the most significant activities so far has been the FIP Academy, which was established a year ago as a platform for the exchange of experience of researchers from partner institutions in the form of professional seminars. While in the last academic year a total of five meetings were held with more than 100 participants and ten speakers, this year eight seminars featuring 16 researchers are scheduled. "We believe that the seminars will lead to new research topics, interdisciplinary collaboration and, in the future, joint projects," said Jana Kukutschová, Director of FIP-AI@VSB-TUO and Vice-Rector for Science and Research at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava (VSB-TUO).

The preparation of joint projects is crucial for the FIP. This is also why Vladislav Kolarik from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT and Dieter Weise from the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU and their colleagues visited various groups at VSB-TUO in order to identify common themes to facilitate work on existing projects, prepare new cooperation proposals, and to establish further collaboration. In total, 16 projects were submitted, nine of them within the Horizon programme.

As Dieter Weise pointed out, the FIP-AI@VSB-TUO did not start from scratch as some of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft institutes had been working with VSB-TUO, mainly the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, since 2016. "This already existing network served as an excellent basis for the establishment of the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform at VSB-TUO, which was a huge advantage. On the other hand, it should be remembered that FIP-AI@VSB-TUO had to deal with the problems associated with the covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent war in Ukraine in its early days," said Weise.

Other pillars of FIP's work include establishing contacts with industrial partners for contract research. In support of this goal, FIP-AI@VSB-TUO organises meetings with companies, participates in conferences, trade fairs and last year organised the 2nd Czech-German Workshop for Industrial Research and Innovation in cooperation with the German Embassy in Prague. FIP-AI@VSB-TUO will continue its promotional activities to raise awareness of the platform, especially its research and opportunities for cooperation with industry.

Václav Snášel, Rector of VSB-TUO, also called for the further development of cooperation with industry. "This month we have completed the preparation of the REFRESH project, one of the largest projects of the University, which is focused on the transformation of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It would be good to connect with it. Furthermore, one of its partners is the Moravian-Silesian Innovation Centre, which is located near the University campus and could be a good source of contacts for collaborations with companies," said Snášel.

In this academic year, FIP-AI@VSB-TUO will present itself at a number of events in the Czech Republic and abroad. These include the Energy Forum 2023 and the Open House - Energy Days in Chemnitz or the international conferences Nano Ostrava and ICMCTF in San Diego.

The opening ceremony of FIP-AI@VSB-TUO took place in Ostrava in June 2021. All partners contribute their own expertise: VSB-TUO in the areas of artificial intelligence and next-generation computing, Fraunhofer ICT in materials research and energy systems, and Fraunhofer IWU in manufacturing technology and production.

Text: Martina Šaradínová, PR specialist for R&D
Photo: Petr Havlíček

Created: 14. 3. 2023
Category:  News
Department: 9320 - Science and Research Management and the PhD Academy
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