Visit by the Prime Minister

On August 12, the new digital cabinet of the Thuringian state government met for the first time in an external meeting - in the Grace Hopper Building at Ilmenau University of Technology. Under the leadership of Digital Minister Steffen Schütz and Digital State Secretary Milen Starke and in the presence of Minister President Mario Voigt, the go-ahead was given for a new digital strategy for the Free State.

What role should digitalization play in Thuringia in the future? What opportunities and challenges does the use of artificial intelligence present - for example in administration, business and education? The cabinet members addressed these questions in a discussion with TU President Prof. Kai-Uwe Sattler. In a keynote speech, he presented the activities of TU Ilmenau in the areas of digitalization and AI in research, teaching and university operations.

The choice of Ilmenau as a location was deliberate: TU Ilmenau is a "centerpiece of the innovation landscape in Thuringia", said the Minister President. During the subsequent tour of central research facilities, Voigt gained an impression of current developments "made in Ilmenau".

At the Center for Micro and Nanotechnologies (ZMN), the delegation learned about the technological foundations for future AI hardware, energy-efficient electronics and smart sensor systems. As the university's largest core facility, the ZMN bundles interdisciplinary research and enables a close transfer to industrial applications - an important building block for Thuringia's innovative strength.

Practical applications were also presented in the Zusebau, home to the Faculty of Computer Science and Automation and the Thuringian Center for Learning Systems and Robotics (TZLR): from autonomous robots and intelligent assistance systems to AI solutions for public administration.