Innovation Quarter Oldenburg: Partners present plans for IQON

At today's neighbourhood day 100 years after the topping-out ceremony of the "Alte Fleiwa" in Oldenburg - once Europe's largest meat products factory - the neighbourhood was also presented to interested parties as the location of the future Oldenburg Innovation Quarter (IQON). In future, this will bring together four institutions from top research in the development of new technologies in a unique project: The OFFIS - Institute for Computer Science, the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oldenburg, the Institute of Systems Engineering for Future Mobility of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). Within the framework of a programme with a "virtual laying of the foundation stone", the partners presented their plans. The project is being funded with around 63 million euros from federal and state funds and is currently one of the largest construction projects in computer science research nationwide.

Driving the digital transformation forward together with the Oldenburg Innovation Quarter (from left): Axel Calkosz (IQON), Prof. Dr. Sebastian Lehnhoff (OFFIS), Rüdiger Eichel (Ministry of Science and Culture), Mayor Jürgen Krogmann, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla (DLR), Jürgen Niehaus (IQON), Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c.. Wolfgang Wahlster (DFKI), Dr Jörg Ritter (BTC AG), University President Prof. Dr Ralph Bruder and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Hahn (DLR Institute).

Joint press release by OFFIS, University of Oldenburg, DLR and DFKI

The goal of IQON is to establish a new level of cooperation between science, business and society to advance the digital transformation. According to the principle of so-called "co-innovation", innovation processes in terms of information technologies and digitalisation should no longer be isolated, but open and collaborative. The vision: With IQON, the Alte Fleiwa site in Oldenburg will develop into a dynamic area for the cooperative research and development of innovative prototypes, products and business models - from artificial intelligence to independent energy supply concepts.

The full press release was published in German language only.

Discussing co-innovation were (from left) Lower Saxony's Minister of Economics Olaf Lies, Dr Jörg Ritter (BTC Group), Prof. Dr Sebastian Lehnhoff (OFFIS), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla (DLR), Prof. Dr Ralph Bruder (University of Oldenburg) and DFKI Chief Executive Advisor Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Wolfgang Wahlster. The panel discussion at the opening ceremony of the Innovation Quarter was moderated by Simone Wiegand (Communications) from the DFKI.

At the panel discussion on the topic of co-innovation, the DFKI CEA Wolfgang Wahlster promoted, among other ideas, the establishment of a transfer lab, of which there are already several successful examples at the DFKI.

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