Foreword by the Director

Dear readers,

Calls for an economic restart are unmistakable in Germany. But they must be more than just political rhetoric. Restarting means to get going, trying things out, taking responsibility, moving forward.

In practice, however, you often get the impression that you run into walls as soon as you start. Universities cannot procure AI programming tools because credit card payments, procurement rules or data protection issues are incompatible. Travel expense laws have a hard time reimbursing expenses for micromobility services. And being allowed to access health data from university hospitals for research purposes sometimes takes longer than the time frame for the theses that are supposed to be based on this data.

Germany is not known for its lack of bureaucracy and rules. If we want a genuine restart, we must therefore also talk about which structures make it possible – and which prevent it. Innovation arises where technology, organization, regulation, data and people are brought together in such a way that new ideas can take practical effect.

This is precisely where Fraunhofer FIT sees its role. We are working to ensure that digital innovation does not get stuck at interfaces, responsibilities and procedures, but becomes real – in solutions that work under real-life conditions.

It is becoming increasingly clear that reliable AI requires reliable data. If you want to use AI confidently, you need infrastructures where data can be exchanged securely, traceably and on an equal footing. We are helping to shape such infrastructures and standards in European initiatives – from data spaces for the energy transition to the European Health Data Space. At the same time, we are advancing the use of generative AI: in applications, new ways of working and the training of specialists and managers.

What this means is demonstrated by projects such as TwinEU, where we are developing federated digital twins for the European electricity system with more than 70 European partners, or CAREPATH, which enables personalized, data-based care for the elderly. With the JUPITER AI Factory, we are helping to build an AI ecosystem around Europe's first exascale supercomputer – a contribution to Europe's technological sovereignty.

2025 also showed how closely our past and future belong together: Our Microsimulation and Econometric Data Analysis group celebrated its 50th anniversary, while the groundbreaking ceremony in Bayreuth lets a new Fraunhofer campus take shape next to the University of Bayreuth campus.

All of this is made possible by people who not only master technology, but also want to shape it. I would like to thank our staff and our partners from business, science, politics and the public for their trust, cooperation and daily commitment.

Sincerely, 
Prof. Dr. Stefan Decker