University delegates return inspired and with collaborative ideas after visiting Fraunhofer ICT
"The primary objective of this visit was to learn more about the research topics and infrastructure of our Fraunhofer Innovation Platform partner and explore opportunities for collaboration in other areas. The programme included presentations and guided tours of laboratories. For many participants it was their first visit to the Institute. A similar meeting was held last year at our other platform partner - Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU," said Jana Kukutschová, Director of FIP-AI@VSB-TUO and Vice-Rector for Science and Research at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava.
For instance, Martina Peřinková, the Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering described the visit as highly beneficial. "We have discovered that a number of topics at the Fraunhofer Institute for ICT are intertwined with research at our faculty. I was very interested in the Institute's work in the field of polymer development as a substitute for otherwise expensive construction materials, such as steel. We have agreed that Fraunhofer ICT representative Vladislav Kolarik, who is also Deputy Director of FIP-AI@VSB-TUO, will visit our faculty and discuss potential collaboration with us," said the Dean.
Vít Vondrák, Director of the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center, mentioned that IT4Innovations already cooperates quite intensively with the Fraunhofer ICT, similarly to the Fraunhofer IWU. "However, the comprehensive overview of Fraunhofer ICT's activities presented to us was very useful and thanks to it I can see the potential for expanding our collaboration into other areas. We have prepared a number of joint projects both nationally and internationally. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for a successful one," said Vondrák. Vondrak considers the use of a quantum computer for simulations in computational chemistry or cooperation with the Polymer Engineering and Research Factory Karlsruhe, particularly in the field of process digitisation and data acquisition, to be other promising areas of future cooperation.
"A very interesting inspiration was the Fraunhofer ICT wind power plant and their experience with its operation. Given the high costs of operating our supercomputer infrastructure, we are discussing possible new sources of electricity and the wind power plant is one of the few options," Vondrák added.
Cooperation with the Fraunhofer ICT is also planned at the Faculty of Safety Engineering. Karla Barčová, the Vice-Dean for Science and Research at the Faculty of Safety Engineering, regarded the visit to their German partner as highly beneficial." We have found a number of common topics and prospective activities, notably in project collaboration and mobility, which can be used in the future. I was deeply impressed by the number and size of the laboratories across the entire campus, the thematic scope of the research they are engaged in, as well as the equipment of the laboratories and all the experimental facilities," Barčová summarised the visit.
The visit also included a meeting of the members of the Supervisory Group and the Management of FIP-AI@VSB-TUO. This meeting provided an opportunity to present the results achieved by FIP-AI@VSB-TUO so far and to discuss the prospects for further development and the possibilities for cooperation between the partners of the innovation platform.
The unique Czech-German collaboration between VSB – Technical University of Ostrava and two institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the largest applied research and development organisation in Europe, has been running since June 2021. VSB-TUO together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU and the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT are looking for solutions for more sustainable industrial production.
Text: Martina Šaradínová, PR Specialist for R&D
Photo credit: Mona Rothweiler