The GeoCircle project focuses on promoting the circularity of Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs) through data-driven approaches and geometric time-series analysis. By leveraging geometric algorithms and structured time-series data, the project aims to generate detailed insights into wear, deterioration, and damage mechanisms, serving as the foundation for comprehensive data-driven life cycle assessments. These insights form the basis for tailored design and utilization strategies designed to extend product lifespans and operational cycles, ultimately aiming for full circularity.

• Project leader: Prof Dr-Ing Semih Severengiz and Prof Dr Christian Scheffer
• Funded by: Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)
• Volume (in €): 1.018.263,91
• Co-operating partner: Elorec GmbH, Dott (TIER Mobility SE)
   

Hands-on space exploration for the next generation: Bochum University of Applied Sciences (HSBO), together with the University of Würzburg and TU Darmstadt, is launching the pioneering joint project STARK (Student Technology and Training Initiative for Space Exploration and Small Satellites). The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is funding the three-year project starting in August 2026. The objective is to provide students and pupils easier access to modern small satellite technologies and to counteract the skilled labor shortage in the booming NewSpace sector.

• Project leader: Prof Dr-Ing Inka Müller, Prof Dr-Ing Daniel Schilberg
• Funded by: Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)
• Volume (in €): 679.219,63
• Co-operating partner: University of Würzburg, TU Darmstadt, ESERO Germany (Ruhr University Bochum), Bochum Observatory, AMSAT DL

Sustain2care.ruhr brings together regional stakeholders in the care sector to render the industry more sustainable through the development, implementation, and evaluation of concrete measures. The healthcare sector is one of the largest consumers of resources. There is significant potential for savings, particularly in the rapidly growing care market, where 7.4 metric tons of CO2 are generated per care place annually. The sustain2care.ruhr project pursues a systematic, multi-stage conceptual approach to bring together regional stakeholders in the care sector to make the industry more sustainable through the development, implementation, and evaluation of concrete measures. To this end, the project identifies relevant stakeholders from science, industry, and care within the Ruhr healthcare region, who develop practical solutions in topic-specific think tanks. 

As part of the project, three individual measures will be gradually implemented and evaluated. These address either adaptation—modifying care facilities to meet changing environmental conditions—or mitigation, leveraging the facilities' operational scope to reduce their environmental footprint. Practical guidelines for these measures will be derived from the accompanying evaluation. The objective is an efficient transfer of knowledge between science and practice as well as among institutions (practice-to-practice transfer). For this purpose, a toolkit is being developed to enable regional and cross-regional implementation. The project thus makes a decisive contribution to the sustainable development of the care sector and strengthens its future viability.

• Project leader: Prof Dr Frank Schmitz, Prof Dr Stephan Sommer
• Funded by: State of NRW through the ERDF/JTF Program NRW
• Co-operating partner: MedEcon Ruhr (consortium lead), RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

The objective of the Digital Health Factory Ruhr is to address the specific challenges of healthcare provision in metropolitan areas (Urban Health) using the current and evolving instruments of the digital health industry (Digital Health). This is pursued along four main development areas: (1) socio-medical data network, (2) digital solutions for spatial healthcare concepts, (3) Ruhr Health Platform, and (4) Decision Support Systems.

The Ruhr Health Platform project aims to empower the health literacy of residents in the Ruhr region by providing digital access to health information and services. It is designed to help users navigate the healthcare system, utilize local care services, obtain information on specific health topics, and identify opportunities for maintaining their own health. To achieve this, a target-group-oriented approach is being developed. In an initial project, Platform for Health 1 (P4H1), a version tailored to the needs of older adults with or without a history of displacement is being developed within the social environment of Oberhausen.

In a follow-up project, P4H2, the results will be transferred to the cities of Duisburg, Bochum, and Gelsenkirchen. In addition, new target groups and dedicated content will be developed in each of these three cities (primary school children, adolescents, young families). AI technologies (e.g., chatbots) will be deployed to prepare target-group-specific content and media assets.

• Project leader: Medecon
• Funded by: BMFTR – Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space
• Volume (in €): 251.170
• Co-operating partner: HSBO, medecon, Fraunhofer ISST, takepart, City of Duisburg, City of Gelsenkirchen, City of Bochum

The financial participation of host municipalities in the value generated by renewable energy (RE) plants has increasingly come into political focus in recent years. Since 2021, operators of RE installations across Germany have been able to pay a voluntary annual fee to municipalities affected by the plants. In parallel, a growing number of federal states have enacted or are planning regulations for mandatory financial participation by municipalities. Furthermore, many plant operators have long offered municipalities opportunities for financial participation on their own initiative.

Although these financial participation models vary in design, they pursue shared goals: fostering a more positive perception, increasing local acceptance, and ultimately accelerating the expansion of renewable energy. However, there is a lack of empirical data and evaluations regarding how revenue generated through municipal financial participation is purposefully utilized and what actual impact it can achieve. Within the framework of this research project, the first large-scale, empirically grounded study on the effectiveness of currently implemented and planned approaches for municipal financial participation in the expansion of renewable energy will be conducted. The project team adopts an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach, focusing on the following key questions:

• To what extent are municipalities currently generating revenue, and what are these funds used for?
• How do the amount and utilization of municipal revenue currently affect the perception and acceptance of RE expansion as well as RE expansion rates themselves?
• What future potential for municipal finances, acceptance, and accelerated expansion can be unlocked if municipal financial participation is applied to all RE installations?

• What conclusions can be drawn from these insights for the effective implementation of municipal financial participation in RE expansion?

   

• Project leader: Prof Dr Stephan Sommer
• Funded by: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE)

The objective of the Digital Health Factory Ruhr is to address the specific challenges of healthcare provision in metropolitan areas (Urban Health) using the current and evolving instruments of the digital health industry (Digital Health). This is pursued along four main development areas: (1) socio-medical data network, (2) digital solutions for spatial healthcare concepts, (3) Ruhr Health Platform, and (4) Decision Support Systems.

The Ruhr Health Platform project aims to empower the health literacy of residents in the Ruhr region by providing digital access to health information and services. It is designed to help users navigate the healthcare system, utilize local care services, obtain information on specific health topics, and identify opportunities for maintaining their own health. To achieve this, a target-group-oriented approach is being developed. In an initial project, Platform for Health 1 (P4H1), a version tailored to the needs of older adults with or without a history of displacement is being developed within the social environment of Oberhausen.

In a follow-up project, P4H2, the results will be transferred to the cities of Duisburg, Bochum, and Gelsenkirchen. In addition, new target groups and dedicated content will be developed in each of these three cities (primary school children, adolescents, young families). AI technologies (e.g., chatbots) will be deployed to prepare target-group-specific content and media assets.

• Project leader: Bochum University of Applied Sciences
• Funded by: BMFTR – Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space
• Volume (in €): 410.882
• Co-operating partner: HSBO, medecon, Fraunhofer ISST, DRK Oberhausen, takepart

Climate change will cause a global 19% loss in economic output by the year 2050. Consequently, the EU and Germany have agreed on ambitious climate targets and are striving for climate neutrality by mid-century. Due to its demographic structure and CO2-intensive industry, NRW will be particularly affected by this transformation.

To achieve climate neutrality and minimize the economic impacts, effective climate protection and adaptation measures are necessary, which inevitably entail high costs. As a result, the question regarding the social impacts of climate policy is gaining increasing importance. Social justice is also indirectly relevant for the acceptance and political feasibility of climate policy measures.

In this project, the current state of research on the distributional effects of climate protection and adaptation measures will be systematically processed and presented. This will be accomplished, on the one hand, by compiling a systematic literature review. On the other hand, the impacts of various climate policy instruments in Germany as well as specifically in NRW will be empirically examined using suitable microdata. Both approaches will place a special focus on low-income households and evaluate instruments currently introduced or under debate in Germany from a social policy perspective. Furthermore, an international comparison will be conducted.

The project pursues two objectives:

• First, to examine the state of research on the distributional effects of climate protection and adaptation measures using a systematic literature review.
• Second, to empirically determine the financial impacts of various climate policy instruments (e.g., CO2 pricing through ETS II, promotion of electromobility) using suitable microeconomic data (SOEP or EVS). The analysis of the financial impacts on the population will be conducted both for Germany as a whole and specifically for NRW.

This procedure allows, on the one hand, for the derivation of concrete conclusions regarding the vulnerability of specific population groups in relation to climate policy. Using a microsimulation model to be developed, the impacts of various climate protection instruments can be quantified and evaluated from a social policy perspective, depending on factors such as income, energy sources used, or place of residence. On the other hand, by systematically capturing the state of research on the impacts of climate protection and adaptation measures abroad and identifying best practices, implications for Germany and NRW can be derived.

• Project leader: Prof Dr Stephan Sommer
• Funded by: Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs (NRW)

Robotics in the skilled trades? In professions where practical dexterity, manual skill, and highly concrete experience are often key qualifications? "Absolutely!" agreed architects Prof. Sven Pfeiffer and Prof. Erhard An-He Kinzelbach, together with robotics professor Dr. Daniel Schilberg from the Department of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering. And so, across departments, they developed the vision of a manufacturing cell for the construction trades in which humans and machines are to interact in a new way. This cell is to be named "CoBotCraftLab – Laboratory for Human-Robot Collaboration and Digital Craftsmanship."

• Project leader: Prof Dr-Ing Daniel Schilberg, Prof Sven Pfeiffer, Prof Erhard An-He Kinzelbach
• Funded by: German Research Foundation (DFG)
• Volume (in €): 1.208.738

In the SpaceAnts project, the algorithmic foundations are investigated regarding how large groups of simple autonomous robots can collaboratively construct, maintain, and reconfigure complex structures composed of numerous modular components. The focus is on efficient coordination and motion-planning algorithms that exploit parallelism in robot swarms while accounting for the geometric and combinatorial properties of the resulting structures. The developed methods are intended to be scalable across vastly different orders of magnitude; ranging from large-scale structures in outer space to microscopic DNA robots.

• Project leader: Prof Dr Christian Scheffer & Prof Dr Sándor Fekete
• Funded by: German Research Foundation (DFG)
• Volume (in €): 726.340
• Co-operating partner: NASA Ames, MIT, University of Houston, Stony Brook University

Intelligent circular economy through advanced AI technologies
The ‘CoFill’ project is focussing on the development of AI-supported solutions to improve efficiency and sustainability in the circular economy. By using intelligent data analyses and predictive models, the aim is to optimise processes in waste management and enable more sustainable use of resources.

• Project leader: Prof Dr Jörg Frochte
• Funded by: Federal Ministry of Education and Research
• Volume (in €): 375.012
• Co-operating partner: Zolitron

Water Jet Milling with Smart AI Modelling
The "JetsKI" project aims to utilise innovative machining processes through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Water jet milling has enormous potential for the efficient machining of previously difficult-to-machine materials such as high-strength ceramics, but has so far been too demanding and complex for the broad industrial user group. The application of AI methods is intended to improve process design and support the user in the computer-aided manufacturing environment in order to overcome previous limitations and achieve modern industrial standards.
 

• Project leader: Prof Dr Jörg Frochte
• Sponsor: NRW Innovation Promotion Agency
• Volume (in €): 1.1 million
• Co-op partners: HydroMill, AixPath

The fourth industrial revolution is already in full swing: people, machines, and processes in industry are directly networked with one another. Can the Ruhr metropolitan region keep pace? After all, standardized products can long since be manufactured with high quality and cost-effectively overseas. The key lies in sustainable and efficient production. To ensure regional companies succeed in this transformation, Bochum University of Applied Sciences advises and supports them in the digitization and networking of their production processes.

In the BO Smart Factory, real processes are recorded and potential scenarios are simulated. Solutions are also being developed for the question: "How do you prepare employees for this change?"

• Project leader: Prof Dr Mi-Yong Becker, Prof Dr Marcus Schröter, TP7 Lead Prof Dr-Ing Daniel Schilberg
• Funded by: Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)
• Volume (in €): 7.391.466,71 (TP7 295.211,72 €)
• Co-operating partner: HydroMill, AixPath

Data Competence Center for the Interprofessional Use of Health Data in the Ruhr Metropolitan Region. High volumes of data are generated in the healthcare sector within the scope of research and care provision. The recently enacted Health Data Utilization Act (GDNG) promotes the use of health data on the one hand, while posing demands on care providers and researchers on the other. Meeting these requirements presupposes data competencies that are rarely available or taught broadly today. Data competencies are a essential starting point for ensuring quality-assured and data-protection-compliant data collection, analysis, and interpretation, and must be established to complement technical infrastructures such as GAIA-X or EHDS.

The DIM.RUHR Data Competence Center consolidates the expertise of participating research institutions. To make the collected data usable for health services research, DIM.RUHR provides educational, research, and networking opportunities designed to enhance data literacy among both researchers and care providers: existing experimental labs support practical learning, micro-degree-based offerings are made available as Open Educational Resources (OER), and the HealthDataRepository.RUHR maps the complete health data life cycle for application in data-focused research projects. Some of the developed OER were created using AI tools.

• Project leader: Witten/Herdecke University
• Funded by: Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR): The DIM.RUHR project is funded under grant agreement number 16DKZ2008A-F by the BMFTR and financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU
• Volume (in €): 365.353,05
• Co-operating partner: Witten/Herdecke University (Overall Project Management), Ruhr University Bochum, ORCA.NRW, Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering (ISST), Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences

NFDI4Earth is one of the consortia within the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI).
It brings together the leading national institutions in Earth system science and includes more than 50 organizations. These collaborate in international and interdisciplinary networks with the overarching goal of understanding Earth system functioning and interactions and addressing the multiple challenges of global change. NFDI4Earth addresses the digital needs of researchers in Earth system science. A variety of sensor and simulation data at very high spatial, temporal, and thematic resolutions are leading to rapidly increasing data volumes here. The description and assessment of Earth system processes, their dependencies and changes therefore urgently requires efficient research data management as well as more powerful collaboration environments for joint, cross-disciplinary data analysis.

• Project leader: Prof. Carsten Keßler
• Funding Organisation: German Research Foundation (DFG) (Project number 460036893)
• Volume (in €): 35.6445,69 from Bochum University of Applied Sciences.
• Cooperation partners: see project details page

Transformation of the Automotive Industry in the Bergisch Region
The TrAIber.NRW project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection under the title "Action-oriented knowledge transfer in the Bergisches Land multi-pattern transformation region" (HaWiss Multitrans), supports automotive suppliers in the Bergisches Land region in coping with drive changes and climate targets.
The use of digitalisation, including AI and data-driven innovations, is driving adaptations in business models and production processes. The project is developing a regional transformation strategy based on comprehensive analyses, which will form the basis for all project orientations.
A particular focus is on the development of educational offers, ranging from the adaptation of training occupations to dual study programmes, in order to promote lifelong learning and strengthen professional skills in line with SDG 4. A modular transformation toolkit also offers courses, methods and guidelines tailored to the specific needs of regional stakeholders.
The "Bergische Akademie für Transformation" will continue to provide these educational and advisory services after the end of the project funding, thereby sustainably supporting SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) as well as SDG 4 (Quality Education) in order to promote comprehensive and sustainable development in the region.
 

• Project leaders: Prof. Dr Jörg Frochte, Prof. Dr Clemens Faller & Prof. Dr Markus Lemmen
• Funded by: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection
• Co-operation partners: Here you can find a list of the co-operation partners.

For the long-term success of the energy transition, ensuring that it is designed fairly is critical. In selecting locations for infrastructure dedicated to renewable electricity generation and distribution, justice aspects play a pivotal role, particularly due to the spatial variance of associated local costs (e.g., noise emissions) and benefits (e.g., regional value creation). This spatial maldistribution of local effects can contribute to resistance against energy infrastructure projects.

In this context, the project addresses the question of how interregional distributive justice can and should be integrated into the steering of renewable energy infrastructure expansion. To this end, the project explores how interregional distributive justice can be applied to the spatial expansion of energy infrastructure, what distributional and efficiency impacts it leads to in practice, and how it can be implemented regulatorily.

The project encompasses the conceptual processing of various justice approaches as well as their empirical application to the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure in Germany. Through close collaboration with practical partners, the project results are critically analyzed regarding their relevance to and applicability in practice. Furthermore, the inclusion of citizens through a survey enables public preferences regarding different concepts of justice to be taken into account. The concluding legal and economic instrument analysis for implementing various justice concepts in the expansion of energy infrastructure thus provides a sound scientific basis for political decision-makers.

• Project leader: Prof Dr Stephan Sommer
• Funded by: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
• Co-operating partner: UFZ Leipzig

The PFLIP project aims to define a core nursing dataset and establish an intersectoral nursing data repository. The continuity of care is intended to be improved across institutions (patient-centeredness vs. organization-centeredness), while enabling the development of AI solutions that support nursing staff. To achieve this, nursing data from both inpatient and outpatient sectors will be harmonized and made usable.

• Project leader: Fraunhofer ISST
• Funded by: BMFTR – Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space
• Volume (in €): 312.663
• Co-operating partner: Fraunhofer ISST, HSBO, Connext Communication GmbH, Diakonie Michaelshoven

Thermal energy conversion using shape memory materials to exploit waste heat potential (THEAsmart & THEAsmart2):
Waste heat from industry, commerce, households as well as solar energy generation represent a large energy potential in Germany and worldwide. Large quantities of fossil fuels could be saved if this could be used more efficiently. Against this background, the "THEAsmart" research project has already identified fundamental framework conditions and interrelationships of technical usability. Potentials were identified that make the use of heat sources with the aid of FGL systems in various applications appear technically possible, economically viable and ecologically sensible. Two core approaches are therefore to be further researched in the follow-up project THEAsmart II and prototypically presented in demonstration projects. The developments are to be able to tap heat sources in different application areas and fields of use and convert thermal energy into kinetic energy (FGL fluid pump) or electrical energy (energy harvester). So-called wet actuators, FGL actuators activated by fluids, will be further optimized for energy conversion in the already patented applications from the THEAsmart project.

• Project leader: Prof. Clemens Faller
• Sponsor: Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the State of NRW
• Volume (in €): 1.679.000 Euro
• Cooperation partners: FGW Remscheid, FH Münster, Dörschler GmbH, BLECO GmbH

Open Educational Resources for Spatial Information Infrastructures:
The goal of the OER4SDI project is to develop and publish a structured and coherent collection of CC-licensed OER materials that support students in geospatial information processing courses (e.g., geoinformatics, geodesy, geomatics) in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the architecture, implementation, and use of spatial data infrastructures. This includes the conceptual, technical, and legal foundations of distributed spatial data infrastructures as well as models for their development and governance at regional, national, and international levels. Students will develop essential skills that will enable them to contribute to the development and valorization of these infrastructures in their future careers. The OER will be published via the state portal ORCA.NRW and used in teaching over a period of at least 5 years.

• Projekt leader: Prof. Carsten Keßler
• Sponsor: DH.NRW
• Volume (in €): 499.087 Euro
• Cooperation partner: Ruhr-Universität Bochum

With digital mentoring, the three partner universities address several challenges that are currently influencing and shaping teaching and learning: on the one hand, there is the fact that their first-year students usually start their studies with very different prerequisites, for example with different approaches to higher education entrance qualifications and an increasing social and cultural diversity of students. In addition, the three partners also want to take into account the growing length of studies and the significant increase in the use of digital teaching elements.

In this context, it is precisely the digitization of teaching that opens up the new opportunities that Digital Mentoring exploits. The "learning analytics" method used here makes use of the data generated by students' learning activities to better identify the needs of individual learners and provide better support for the individual learning process. To this end, the three universities use information from various sources, such as administrative and learning management systems, compile it and evaluate it in compliance with all data protection regulations. The use of educational data mining is intended to contribute to the compilation of recommendations for the further course of studies, which complement the support and guidance provided by professors, but also service institutions such as the student advisory service.

More information on the project here.

• Project leader: Prof. Jörg Frochte
• Sponsor: Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre under FBM2020-VA-219-2-05750
• Volume (in €): share of Bochum University of Applied Sciences: 948.973
• Cooperation partners: FH Dortmund (Consortium management), Westfälische Hochschule

Shared Tasks as an innovative approach to implementing AI and Big Data-based applications in the higher education landscape:
With SharKI, we are developing a shared task platform to enable instructors to implement, execute, and assess shared tasks in courses using AI. Intergated is the aspect of educationan data mining. Primary targets at HS BO are robotics and control engineering.

• Project leader: Prof. Jörg Frochte
• Sponsor: BMBF Call 2873
• Volume (in €): 166.545
• Cooperation partners: Uni Leipzig, Uni Weimar

Substitution of deterministic models for the description of space-time-variant processes using machine learning methods:
Development of AI methods for data-based modeling of hydrological processes.

• Project leader: Prof. Andreas Wytzisk-Arens
• Sponsor: Internal funding 
• Volume (in €): 80.000
• Cooperation partners: TU Dresden, Bochum University of Applied Sciences (FB B)

TIered MAchine Learning ArchItEctures:
Development of New Methods and Processes in Machine Learning with Special Consideration of Data Privacy and Data Security

• Project leader: Prof. Jörg Frochte
• Sponsor: EFRE (EU & NRW)
• Volume (in €): 538.310
• Cooperation partners: University of Wuppertal, various industrial partners

Bee Statistics develops data-driven policy advice based on statistical and machine-learned data analysis. For more information, visit https://www.opa-tad.de.

• Project leader/mentor: Prof. Henrik Blunck
• Sponsor: EFRE (NRW Startup funding line)
• Volume (in €): share of Bochum University of Applied Sciences: 235.000
• Cooperation partner: Political Science RUB, Prof. Dr. Bovermann

Municipal monitoring of spatial development:
In the future, the two municipalities of Essen and Mühlheim an der Ruhr want to align their urban development in a holistic and flexible manner and react promptly to emerging changes in their planning processes. Changes in the urban area (e.g. with regard to demographics or social structure) are to be recognized at an early stage both for the city as a whole and for individual neighborhoods. For this purpose, an integrated monitoring system was developed that combines data from different areas and allows spatiotemporal analyses. A web-based software was developed, which allows an integrated GIS-based, spatio-temporal monitoring of geodata and statistics. The software is freely available and was developed as a working tool for the local government to be able to answer current questions of urban development in a timely and demand-oriented manner. Due to a modular software architecture as well as generic and configurable functionalities, KomMonitor is transferable to other municipalities as well as to other application fields and scale levels. Geodata and statistics are made accessible in a user-friendly and appealing way by means of an interactive map application, diagrams and other analysis tools. A meaningful indicator system ensures a transparent and structured preparation of spatial information.

More about the project here.

• Project leader: Prof. Andreas Wytzisk-Arens, Dr.-Ing. Alexandra Lindner
• Sponsor: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research/ Funding measure: Kommunen innovativ
• Volume (in €): 815.710,74
• Cooperation partners: Ruhr University Bochum, City of Müllheim an der Ruhr, German Institute of Urban Affairs, Institute Space & Energy

In the Smartdemography project, small-scale demographic monitoring was created for the district of Recklinghausen, which provides small-scale information as well as indicators on the population and existing infrastructures in digital form. Automatically acquired data was processed in accordance with data protection regulations and made available in a portal for the city administration, business, research and the public. The tool makes it possible to control the structural change of the region in a sustainable manner and to view decisions and planning holistically and in relation to target groups.

• Project leader: Prof. Andreas Wytzisk-Arens
• Sponsor: "Umbau 21 - Smart Region" Initiative for digitalization in the Emscher-Lippe region
• Volume (in €): 776,095.24, Bochum University's share: 235,628.66
• Cooperation partners: /

Innovative operating concepts in Computer Aided Design (CAD) based on gaming technologies:
The project deals with the development of a novel software for intuitive design of CAD solutions in the field of architecture.

• Project leader: Prof. Stefan Müller-Schneiders (subproject AI)
• Sponsor: EFRE (EU & NRW)
• Volume (in €): 487.176,50
• Cooperation partners: Maximago GmbH, W Kubik GmbH

A research project to develop a platform and tools to standardize and simplify the provision of (mobility) data and its analysis. Further information at https://www.opa-tad.de.

• Project leader: Prof. Henrik Blunck
• Sponsor: BMBV (mFund funding line)
• Volume (in €): 670.000, share of Bochum University of Applied Sciences: 229.000 
• Cooperation partners: BO-I-T (Bochum Institute of Technology), Old World Computing GmbH, SECUNET Security Networks AGV

Water Copernicus Services:
Effects of climate change as well as intensification of agricultural use are already leading to increased nutrient inputs into flowing waters and reservoirs. Water authorities, water management and wastewater associations as well as municipalities are thus facing new challenges. In order to ensure efficient and environmentally sound water management in the future, adaptations to the changing framework conditions are necessary. Against this background, the WaCoDiS research project was dedicated to the quantification and precise localization of substance discharges as well as qualitatively optimized modeling of sediment and pollutant discharges into flowing waters and dams. For this purpose, solution strategies for combining different data sources (with a focus on Copernicus satellite data), existing web-based information systems and new model components were developed.

More about the project here.

• Project leader: Prof. Andreas Wytzisk-Arens
• Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure/ Modernity Fund/mFUND
• Volume (in €): 357.204
• Cooperation partners:  Wupperverband, EFTAS GmbH, 52° North

Increasing the robustness of extreme value statistics methods for the analysis of hydrological data:
The aim of the project is to (a) quantify the influence of hydrological parameters on the results of extreme value statistics and (b) develop algorithms that allow robust estimation of flood probabilities even in the presence of the above-mentioned influencing factors.

• Project leader: Prof. Christoph Mudersbach
• Sponsor: German Research Foundation (DFG) 
• Volume (in €): 19.320
• Cooperation partners: /

The aim of the prospective.HARVEST project was to develop and test a prototypical information infrastructure for optimizing the agricultural process chain "silo corn harvest". With the help of geo-referenced forecast data, the use of operating resources was to be minimized through anticipatory behavior, and the resource and energy efficiency of the logistics chain was to be increased.

Project leader: Prof. Andreas Wytzisk-Arens
Sponsor: German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture/ Funding measure: BMEL Innovation Promotion Program
Volume (in €): 142.862
Cooperation partners: CLAAS E-Systems KGaA mbH & Co KG, CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH, 365 Farmnet GmbH & Co KG, green spin GmbH, 52° North Initiative for Geospatial Open Source Software GmbH, DFKI Bremen

Investigations into the application of transient design approaches in water management practice:
The research project deals with the question of how changes in hydrological time series caused by humans or climate change can be sustainably taken into account in the design of water management facilities. Specifically, changes in precipitation time series in NRW are being investigated and new design strategies derived.

• Project leader: Prof. Christoph Mudersbach
• Sponsor: State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection NRW (LANUV). Funding line: "Resource-efficient wastewater disposal NRW - ResA"
• Volume (in €): 316,599.04, share of Bochum University of Applied Sciences: 83,563.65
• Cooperation partners: Hydrotec Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, wbu consulting Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH

Knowledge-based decision support for sustainable production in medium-sized companies:
The goal of the BMBF-funded project "WisE-Pro" is to develop and implement a holistic concept for knowledge-based decision making for sustainable production. For the production company, it means using energy and production data to gain an understanding of the efficiency of production and thus find potential for increasing efficiency and, as a result, greater sustainability. They are supported by a consulting concept for energy efficiency, which will be offered by an energy supplier in the future. For the energy supplier, it means generating knowledge about the energy consumption of its customers in order to be able to make well-founded decisions in energy demand planning with regard to the use of renewable energies. In the interaction between energy producer and user, the exchange of data enables an optimized use of the available energy in order to minimize the reserve to be kept from conventional energy sources.

• Project leader: Prof. Clemens Faller
• Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Education and Research - Program Research at Universities of Applied Sciences
• Volume (in €): 324,000
• Cooperation partners: /

Establishment of international collaborations:
Initialization of a cooperation in the field of machine learning / AI with Prof. Marsland (New Zealand).

• Project leader: Prof. Jörg Frochte
• Sponsor: DFG
• Volume (in €): 5.900
• Cooperation partner: Massey University (New Zealand)

Data mining for student advising:
Educational Data Mining on University Databases for Academic Advising and Quality Optimization.

• Project leader: Prof. Jörg Frochte
• Sponsor: Ministry of Education and Science of the State of NRW
• Volume (in €): 38.850
• Co-op partner: /