The University of Technology Nuremberg has Established First Department and Appointed Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

Halbtotale von Prof. Burgard: Er blickt mit verschränkten Armen lächelnd in die Kamera.
Prof. Dr. Wolfram Burgard, Gründungs-Chair des Departments Engineering (Copyright: Technische Universität Nürnberg)

The University of Technology Nuremberg has established its first Department: Prof. Dr. Wolfram Burgard, a renowned expert in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics, will take office on Feb. 1st, 2022 as Founding Chair of the Department of Engineering and Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. This is a further milestone for the university as regards teaching, research and transfer.

NUREMBERG. Bavaria’s Minister of Science, Bernd Sibler, is very pleased with this appointment: “With Prof. Dr. Wolfram Burgard, the University of Technology Nuremberg was able to attract an expert in the field of AI and robotics who is highly renowned both on a national and international scale. He is deemed one of the most outstanding experts in the field of machine learning and autonomous intelligent systems and was awarded, among others, the Leibniz-Prize of the German Research Foundation. With his wide range of experience and interdisciplinary expertise he is a perfect match for the innovative profile of the UTN. The appointment of such a highly qualified candidate reflects the excellent development work of the Founding Executive Board. I would like to extend to him a heart-felt welcome to our university, which is the youngest in Bavaria, and wish him success and satisfaction for his new task”. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans Jürgen Prömel, Founding President of the University of Technology Nuremberg points out: “The intention of the University of Technology Nuremberg is to focus on cutting-edge fields of science and engineering and to combine these with topics relevant to society. In order to develop this academic profile, we need people with the corresponding expertise and vision. Thus I am very happy to welcome Prof. Burgard as a renowned expert who offers exactly that and who will develop our Department of Engineering with his knowledge and zest for action.”

Prof. Dr. Wolfram Burgard – Founding Chair of the Department of Engineering

With Prof. Dr. Wolfram Burgard, the University of Technology Nuremberg has appointed its first Founding Chair who will develop the Department of Engineering and help shape teaching, research and transfer. The first focal point at the University of Technology Nuremberg will be the field of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics which is scheduled to be set up during the course of the year. Prior to this assignment, Wolfram Burgard was Professor of Autonomous Intelligent Systems at the University of Freiburg. In 1991, he completed his dissertation at the Institute of Computer Science at the University Bonn, with emphasis on a combination of robotics and artificial intelligence as well as the development of innovative approaches for mobile robots.

For his academic work, Prof. Dr. Burgard has earned numerous prizes and awards, among them the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Prize and the Advanced Grant of the European Research Council. In 2021, he received the Technical Field Award of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. An expert in computer science, Wolfram Burgard is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and an honorary member of the European Coordination Committee for Artificial Intelligence, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Association for Artificial Intelligence.

“One of the core aspects of the University of Technology Nuremberg is the combination of technical studies and humanities. This approach is the prerequisite to tackle job market needs and research requirements of the future. I am pleased to not only be able to help shape this concept, but also to set the pace with a future-oriented field like artificial intelligence and robotics”, Prof. Dr. Burgard points out.

Departments instead of Faculties

Unlike other universities, the University of Technology Nuremberg will not have faculities and clearly defined boundaries of academic fields. The central idea is an interdisciplinary structure allowing for multidisciplinary studies. For this reason, the university will be structured in departments following international standards. In 2022, the main focus will be on the development of the Department of Engineering, which is intended to bundle all disciplines relating to engineering and science. Besides the interdisciplinary structure, the university is to have an international and digital approach.

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About the University of Technology Nuremberg

The University of Technology Nuremberg was founded on January 1, 2021 and has been the first new foundation of a state-run university in Bavaria since 1978.  With its consistently interdisciplinary approach, an innovative spectrum of subjects, new teaching methods and a future-oriented organizational structure, a model university will be created when it comes to teaching and research. The university is to have an international, interdisciplinary and digital approach. Upon completion, up to 6,000 students will be able to study on a campus embedded in the surrounding quarters.