»Innovation Center Applied System Modeling«

In January 2010, the »Innovation Center Applied System Modeling« was founded in Kaiserslautern. In order to strengthen existing local collaborations, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM, and the Terahertz measurement and systems Department of  the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM, as well as the Departments of Computer Science and Mathematics of the University of Kaiserslautern, intend to cooperate even more closely – the aim being to develop innovative high-tech products faster. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate are supporting this move to further strengthen the profile of the technology hub Kaiserslautern.

The Innovation Center will reflect the fundamental importance of mathematics and computer science in almost all areas of society, science, and technology. It is impossible to conceive of a modern high-tech living environment without mathematics and computer science, since every innovative product is nowadays based on information technology and virtual development processes.

Almost all technical innovations are the result of interdisciplinary research between the cross-over technologies of mathematics and computer science as well as different application disciplines. This is the reason why the Innovation Center will include the competencies of the engineering science departments of the University of Kaiserslautern as well as the research institutes of the Science Alliance Kaiserslautern e.V. in the application-oriented research projects right from the start, in an associative capacity.

The central goal is the vivid personal exchange of knowledge between the institutions and the departments in order to convert the local strengths, particularly in the areas of applied and engineering research, into joint economic success in Kaiserslautern.

The upcoming years will see the exploration of innovation potential in the areas of renewable energies; virtual material, process, and product development; and embedded safety-critical software systems, among others. The goal is to boost strategies and projects that will lead to the creation of new business areas in applied mathematics and computer science. 

The Innovation Center is expected to run for eight years. During the first four years, it will be funded with a total of 12.8 million euros. The funding entities are the state of Rhineland-Palatinate with 6.4 million euros as well as the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Fraunhofer Institutes IESE, IPM, and ITWM, which together will contribute funds in the same amount. Another approx. 3 million euros are expected during the first phase from research collaborations and third-party contracts.