Science Minister Ina Brandes at Wilo: Focus on the new Global WATER AI Academy
TU Dortmund University and water technology group sign letter of intent
Dortmund. The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister for Culture and Science, Ina Brandes, visited Wilopark in Dortmund to find out about Wilo's strategic direction, and particularly the recently founded Wilo Global WATER AI Academy. In the presence of the Minister, Wilo reached another milestone in the establishment of the new education, innovation and cooperation hub: Wilo CEO Oliver Hermes and Prof. Dr Manfred Bayer, Rector of the Technical University of Dortmund, signed a letter of intent, marking the start of the collaboration as part of the Global WATER AI Academy.
“The quality of life of people around the world today and in the future depends to a large extent on whether we manage politically, economically and socially to consistently combine the elementary resource of water and the transformative power of artificial intelligence,” explains Oliver Hermes, President & Global CEO of the Wilo Group. “At Wilo, we have anchored this principle in our corporate strategy and are already merging water technology and AI. The Wilo Global WATER AI Academy is an expression of this. We are delighted about the keen interest in the initiative and the beginning of our collaboration with TU Dortmund University.”
Minister Ina Brandes welcomed the practical orientation of the Global WATER AI Academy and its consistent focus on applied science at the Wilopark: “The cooperation between TU Dortmund University and Wilo combines excellent research with practical application. The close interlinking of academic expertise, entrepreneurial experience and a strong innovation ecosystem generates an impact that extends far beyond Dortmund. Graduates will undoubtedly benefit from this. This kind of entrepreneurial initiative is a real asset for North Rhine-Westphalia as a centre of science.”
“The Technical University of Dortmund and Wilo are united by their close ties to the Dortmund location and their global orientation,” explained Prof Dr Manfred Bayer at the meeting at Wilopark. “The collaboration brings together Wilo's industry and market expertise with our excellent research profile and high standards of university teaching, which always includes unique and innovative programmes for our 29,500 students in addition to traditional ones. In this way, the Global WATER AI Academy fits in perfectly with the TU concept.”
With the signing of the memorandum of understanding, the university and the water technology group headquartered in Dortmund are beginning to develop a partnership that will focus on several projects in the field of applied science relating to water and AI. The first step is to develop the concept for the WATER AI certificate course for spatial planning, architecture, civil engineering and computer science at the TU.
Wilo launched the Global WATER AI Academy just a few weeks ago. With this initiative, the water technology group networks science and industry worldwide and promotes applied science and innovation as well as cooperation in the fields of water and AI across industry and national borders. The first partner of the new institution was Heriot-Watt University. Together with the internationally recognised university, Wilo is designing an educational programme that is recognised in the international university system.
