Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg4 Motors for Europe – Incoming Mission Baden-Württemberg

From the 25^th to the 27^th of October 2023, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum conducted the Incoming Mission 4 for Motors for Europe on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg for 50 participants. In the context of the presidency of Baden-Württemberg, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism invited the network to Baden-Württemberg. The focus was lain on the topic ‘Artifical intelligence in Industrial Application.’

With the delegation trip at the end of Baden-Württemberg’s presidency in the network of the 4 motors for Europe a special focus was placed on networking within the four-partner regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Catalonia, Lombardy and Baden-Württemberg, as well as the associated regions of Flanders and Wales. Above all outstanding institutions and companies in Baden-Württemberg were visited as part of the focus theme ‘Artificial Intelligence in Industrial Application’.

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum coordinated and accompanied the Incoming Mission and was responsible for logistics. This included selecting event venues, services providers in the areas of technology, catering, translation and logistics as well as providing support throughout.

Dr. Patrick Rapp, state secretary for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism, and Florian Hassler, State Secretary for the political coordination and Europe in the Ministry of State, welcomed the delegation on the first evening of the Incoming Mission in the ‘Neue Schloss’ in Stuttgart to an open discussion relied to the topic:” AI-Act: competitiveness vs. regulation in Europe: objection or reconcilability? During the following days the representatives from administration, clusters and companies had the opportunity to learn more about the current development of artificial intelligence applications in Baden-Württemberg through a varied program. They were offered various opportunities to network with stakeholders from Baden-Württemberg.

The following visits provided a comprehensive insight into the state of AI applications in Baden-Württemberg:

• visit at the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAi) in Heilbronn with insights to the development of an AI-ecosystem
• visit to the company Festo, where the concrete application of AI in production was demonstrated
• visit to the “AI Progress Center for Learning Systems and Cognitive Robotics in the Cyber Valley,” located at the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Technology and Automation IPA and for Industrial Engineering IAO, where participants were introduced to the current state of industry-oriented research in the field of AI