Meet Your Data Partner on 2 NovemberMatchmaking: practice meets university

28 November 2022

Photo: UHH/Reichert

On 2 November 2022, interested students from all disciplines had the opportunity to get in touch with companies and associations from the field that are interested in scientific collaboration. Under the motto Meet your Data Partner, the project partners presented their practical challenges to students and lecturers at Universität Hamburg and then engaged in a lively exchange of ideas in search of a suitable match.

Prof. Dr Mathias Fischer, Head of IT Expertise at the DDLitLab, began by outlining the synergy effects between science and practice. Companies and organisations often offer data sets and concrete, practical problems that are usually lacking in science. This is where fruitful collaboration can begin: Students gain access to data and expand their knowledge based on practical issues, while practice partners receive scientifically sound solutions to their questions.

Dr Michaela Ölschläger, Head of the Chamber of Commerce's Innovation and Environment Division, also emphasised this synergy. From a business perspective, she emphasised the importance of innovation in securing the future viability of companies and thus Hamburg's regional competitiveness. Here she emphasised the digitalisation factor, which is turning data into a central currency, but also the importance of skilled workers who can handle this data. Here, well-trained students are the key to future viability.

After categorising the synergies and potential of collaboration between science and practice, the project partners each had 3 minutes to present their data challenge. Following the 9 pitches, there was an opportunity for informal dialogue between students and project partners over drinks and snacks. The students‘ research interests and the companies’ and associations' solution requirements were discussed in more detail and more individually.

Many thanks to Ankerplatz Stade, COMPANYLINKS GmbH, inovex GmbH, LichtBlick SE, LANG.Tec Sematic Text Processing, clubkinder e.V., Lenzsiedlung e.V., encoway GmbH and Signal Iduna, who presented their research interests as project partners.

If you are curious about the Data Challenges, you can watch the 3-minute pitches from 2 November from minute 15:00 in this video or read them in detail on this website.

Attention! Students who are interested in their own data-driven project can apply for DDLitLab funding of up to EUR 10,000 until 9 January 2022. The Data Challenges can be used as a starting point, but your own data-driven project ideas are also very welcome!