Press release of April 21, 2021
Building Bridges in Central Europe
HZDR and the University of Wroclaw agree on even closer collaboration
Building upon the successful cooperation at the Görlitz Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the rector of the University of Wroclaw, Prof. Przemysław Wiszewski, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). This declaration of intent is aimed at deepening future cooperation. Through this agreement, the two instutions seek to strengthen the central European research area and the connection between Saxony and Poland. In the case of CASUS, the University of Wroclaw contributes, above all, a wealth of experience to the field of autonomous driving and machine learning.
Through the cooperation between the Helmholtz-Zentrum and the University of Wroclaw, both sides benefit in different areas – for example in the further development of autonomous vehicles like this rover from the Polish university. The research field of machine learning plays a central role for the interdisciplinary center CASUS.
Foto: Universität Wroclaw
Through this agreement, HZDR and the University of Wroclaw are laying the groundwork for further close collaboration – not only for the German-Polish research institute CASUS, but also in other strategically vital topics, as Sebastian M. Schmidt stresses: “Science and research have always had incredible potential to bridge borders. Through our favorable location in the Tri-border region, HZDR is in an excellent position to establish for Germany strong scientific ties to our neighboring regions. CASUS demonstrates the successes that international cooperation makes possible. We are therefore extremely happy that we can now expand our partnership with the University of Wroclaw.”
The institutions, for example, wish to strengthen the relationship through joint recruitment of researchers, the organization of workshops and exchange programs as well as through the transfer of scientific information. The latter plays a central role for CASUS, particularly in the field of machine learning, explains Wiszewski: “Thanks to our expertise we can support the Görlitz center in achieving its research goals in such varying fields as systems biology, materials research and autonomous driving. In the end, it’s not only the University of Wroclaw and the HZDR that benefit, but society as a whole – whether in Poland, Germany or the world at large.” An assessment that the Saxon Science Minister, Sebastian Gemkow, also shares.
In the last year, together with HZDR’s scientific director, Gemkow got a concrete impression on site during a visit to the university: “Through the HZDR and the University of Wroclaw, two research establishments are entering into a close partnership that has already achieved very strong research success in the past. Such cross-border cooperation is the basis for successfully mastering structural change in the region. Thanks to its numerous scientific institutes, the Free State of Saxony can build specific bridges to our Central European partners in many research areas.”
With approximately 23,500 students, the University of Wroclaw is one of the largest higher education institutions in Poland. At the Institute for Computer Sciences, the Computational Intelligence Research Group develops algorithms and systems to interpret and predict the behavior of the various entities in road traffic – one of the greatest challenges in autonomous driving. With the “Aleph One” project, the university also operates a research platform in which they can test autonomous vehicles under real conditions and collect corresponding data.
Media contact:
Simon Schmitt | Head
Communications and Media Relations at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 3400 | Mobile: +49 175 874 2865 | Email: s.schmitt@hzdr.de
Tomasz Sikora | Head
Communication Department at the University of Wroclaw
Phone: +48 506 959 383 | Email: Tomasz.Sikora@uwr.edu.pl
