The University of Stuttgart has taken a significant step towards realizing its vision of "Intelligent Systems for a Sustainable Society" with the establishment of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence. This newly formed institution serves as a platform to consolidate various AI initiatives and focuses on addressing fundamental research questions while facilitating knowledge transfer to both business and society.
Prof. Dr. Steffen Staab has been elected as the executive director of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence, which will encompass five working groups dedicated to exploring diverse aspects of AI, including computer vision, knowledge graphs, and robotics. The institute includes the two "Cyber Valley" professorships, "Analytic Computing" (Prof. Dr. Steffen Staab) and "Autonomous Systems" (Prof. Dr. Kai Arras), the SimTech professorship "Machine Learning in Simulation Sciences" (Prof. Dr. Mathias Niepert), and the Open Topic-Tenure Track junior professorship "Autonomous Sensing and Perception Systems" (Jun.-Prof. Dr. Alina Roitberg). The professorship for "Machine Learning and Robotics" (N.N., currently under negotiation) is also to be affiliated with the new institute.
The primary objective of the institute is to enhance the university's comprehensive expertise in the field of artificial intelligence. It aims to showcase this expertise within the higher-level structures of the university while fostering external collaboration and facilitating knowledge exchange. The institute actively contributes to various research collaborations at the University of Stuttgart, particularly with the SimTech and IntCDC clusters of excellence that rely on AI advancements in their research missions. Additionally, it actively participates in the Artificial Intelligence Software Academy (AISA), which promotes interdisciplinary research and education at the university's Stuttgart site. The institute also engages in critical reflection on intelligent systems through the Interchange Forum for Reflecting on Intelligent Systems (IRIS). Furthermore, as part of the international network European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems, the ELLIS Unit Stuttgart facilitates knowledge exchange with leading universities across Europe.
