ForDigital is an initiative to bring together researchers from Karlsruhe and Mannheim. The aim of the research alliance which was founded in 2016 is to better understand the mechanisms of the rapidly developing information and communication technologies (ICT) and the effect these technologies have on the economy, society and individuals. On this basis, the researchers aim to create innovative solutions in these fields. Researchers of all departments of the participating institutions at both locations were able to apply for ForDigital projects.
At the end of February, when ForDigital came to an end, the researchers were happy with the outcome: ForDigital funded 81 projects and the total funding amounted to almost 900,000 euros. 44 university professors and 130 researchers from several departments (for example, business informatics, business administration, computer science, mechanical engineering, economics, law and political science) at both locations worked on these projects. ForDigital supported in particular early-stage researchers by funding 16 doctoral students.
The cooperation led to numerous publications in renowned academic journals and conference talks. In addition, ForDigital focused on supporting projects funded by third parties, for example by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Federal Ministry for Education. This led to subsequent projects with a third-party funding volume of 9.1 million euros in total.
On the website of ForDigital, you will find a recording of the closing event as well as more information on the research alliance ForDigital and the projects funded: http://www.fordigital.org/de/index.php.