Volkswagen Group and Technische Universität (TU) Braunschweig are establishing a new professorship for “AI Methods in Product Development”. The goal of the partnership is to further expand top-level research in the mobility sector and accelerate the transfer of scientific knowledge into industrial practice.
The professorship aims to tap into the full spectrum of artificial intelligence within mobility research – from virtual product development and mechatronic systems to autonomous driving functions and the analysis of real world vehicle usage data. In doing so, it strengthens research at the interfaces of modern mobility systems and provides impulses for new AI based development processes.
The professorship will be located at the Institute of Engineering Design at TU Braunschweig and will work closely with the University’s own Automotive Research Centre Niedersachsen (NFF: Niedersächsisches Forschungszentrum Fahrzeugtechnik). With more than 1,000 researchers, over 40 institutes, and more than 50 corporate partners, the NFF is one of Europe’s strongest mobility research centres. The position is planned to be filled promptly, ideally by October 2026. After five years, it is intended to transition into a tenured professorship.
“Artificial intelligence is a key technology for the future of the Volkswagen Group,” said Hauke Stars, Volkswagen Group Board Member for IT. “By leveraging AI technologies, we are accelerating our processes and bringing new products and technologies to market significantly faster. We are consistently expanding our expertise required for this. With the new professorship at TU
Braunschweig, we are specifically strengthening cutting-edge research in Germany. The close transfer of knowledge between research and industry enables us and our partners in the supplier industry to secure crucial know-how at an early stage.”
“Artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming product development,” says TU President Angela Ittel. “Software shapes modern vehicles, their development, and their production more than ever before. AI is the driving force for the next generation of mobility. To advance top level research with high societal relevance, close collaboration between science and industry is essential. I am proud that together with our long-standing partner, the Volkswagen Group, we are realising this professorship. In doing so, we are strengthening AI research in a targeted way and creating the foundation for concrete contributions to the mobility of the future. Especially now, this is the right step: we must invest to drive innovation forward.”
The professorship is also intended to act as a driver for further expanding the regional innovation ecosystem in Lower Saxony and to involve suppliers, start-ups, and additional research partners. It strengthens the transfer from science into industrial practice by incorporating practical requirements into research. In this way, it accelerates the scaling of innovative technologies and the sustainable transformation of industrial applications.
Article source: www.vwpress.co.uk