Great success for AI research in Munich
Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
Munich, Bavaria (ots)
- The Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML) is now permanently funded after a positive assessment
- With the center, LMU and TUM want to jointly advance research in the field of machine learning
- Basic research at MCML has a strong connection to practical applications – from medicine to social sciences and humanities
Initially it was temporarily funded as a project, but now the Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML) has developed successfully and is permanently managed jointly by the federal and state governments. As a result, local research on artificial intelligence (AI) and in particular machine learning is clearly gaining in appeal far beyond the scientific location of Munich.
The MCML is a joint center of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The aim of the center is to advance basic research in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) with a strong connection to practical applications. The MCML was founded in 2018 as one of six nationwide AI competence centers and subsequently funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
It now consists of more than 50 successfully working research groups both in basic research and in the area of application-oriented machine learning. The BMBF and the participating federal states together provide up to a total of 100 million euros annually for the centers, which have now been established following a successful evaluation. 19.6 million euros per year are earmarked for the MCML.
“The AI competence centers are a mainstay of AI research in Germany. By increasing their funding, we are giving researchers planning security and the opportunity to tackle longer-term and complex issues, including research transfer, the emergence of AI start-ups and international networking. Because only if we can apply our research results more quickly and also seek European solidarity will we retain our technological sovereignty with AI. I am convinced that the Munich AI Competence Center will play an important role with its strengths in machine learning, in spin-offs and in central fields of application such as medicine and the humanities and social sciences,” says Mario Brandenburg, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
“The digital revolution is entering the next stage. Machine learning is playing an increasingly important role – also in the application: industry, mobility, care. In the MCML we combine the AI competencies of our two universities of excellence. This is great teamwork from TUM and LMU.” , says the Bavarian Science Minister Markus Blume.
“The MCML offers a highly attractive scientific environment with first-class opportunities for cooperation,” says LMU President Professor Bernd Huber. “The permanent funding from the federal and state governments is a great success and at the same time a sign of the excellent quality of the MCML. It gives the participating scientists at the Munich location the opportunity to further advance their research work in the field of machine learning.”
“The decision by the federal and state governments to make the MCML a permanently funded competence center is a clear sign of the success of our One Munich strategy. We want to join forces to drive future development in the field of artificial intelligence. This will make Munich an even more stronger magnet for young talent,” says Professor Thomas F. Hofmann, President of TUM.
Three research areas at MCML
The research focus of the MCML is divided into three areas: The scientists at the center want to deepen the computer, statistical and mathematical foundations of machine learning and research the explainability of AI, including how algorithms learn and learn independently using huge amounts of training data decisions come.
The second area is about “Perception, Vision and Natural Language Processing”, including how computers can extract and process information from images and natural language – key technologies for easy practical applications.
In a third focus, machine learning methods are to be developed for various socially relevant fields of application – in medicine, biology, physics, earth sciences as well as social sciences and humanities. The MCML also offers service, transfer and training services. To this end, it works together with other scientific institutions and companies. In addition, there is the training of students.
“With our research activities at the MCML, we are creating new methodological foundations for the promotion and application of data science, data mining, machine learning and artificial intelligence,” says Professor Thomas Seidl, Chair of Database Systems and Data Mining at the LMU and spokesman for the MCML.
“Through the close connection between basic and applied research, the MCML contributes to making new approaches to machine learning quickly available to the general public,” says Professor Daniel Cremers, also spokesman for the MCML and holder of the chair for Image processing and artificial intelligence at TUM.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Thomas Seidl
LMU, Chair of Database Systems and Data Mining
Phone: +49-89-2180-9191
Email: [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Daniel Cremers
TUM, Chair of Computer Vision & Artificial Intelligence
Phone: +49-89-289-17755
Email: [email protected]
Press contact:
Claudia Russo
Head of Communications & Press
Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
Leopoldstr. 3
80802 Munich
Telephone: +49 (0) 89 2180-3423
Email: [email protected]
Original content from: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, transmitted by news aktuell