2020 Annual Report Foreword by the Chair of the b-it Foundation Like most sectors of society, the Covid- as RWTH Aachen’s b-it scientific director to 19-pandemic is seriously challenging the in- Professor Stefan Decker. The foundation is ternational higher education system. In such very grateful to Professor Jarke for his pio- a crisis, the international digitalization-orient- neering initiative towards the internationaliza- ed master and doctoral education pursued tion of German Computer Science education by the Bonn-Aachen International Center on as early as 2001, declining an attractive offer Information Technology (b-it) with topic such from a top US university. Personally, I would as Life Science Informatics, Media Informat- very much like to thank Professor Jarke for Annette Storsberg ics, and Autonomous Systems around a his commitment to b-it and the outstanding shared data science kernel are more impor- services he has rendered the foundation. tant than ever. Several research projects are directly contributing to preventing further Concluding, we would like to thank the b-it spreading of the virus. The high impact of b-it directors, study program coordinators, and was also emphasized by the international b-it especially the faculty and supporting staff for Advisory Board. their additional efforts in difficult times, with best wishes for the future. The Ministry is glad to learn that the social media-based network set up by b-it has dealt Annette Storsberg State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture and very efficiently with this challenging situation. Science of the German State of North Rhine- It offered successful bridging courses and Westphalia even a virtual welcome party for the incom- Chair of the b-it Foundation Council ing students in the fall of 2020, even includ- ing those who could not yet physically arrive in North Rhine-Westphalia due to Covid- b-it Mission Statement 19-related travel restrictions. b-it is an international center for information Furthermore, b-it partners are actively con- technology. It is jointly carried by the lead- tributing to the energy turn, specifically the ing universities and research institutes of the structural change of the Rhineland coal min- information technology region Bonn-Aachen. ing area, e.g. by the new Fraunhofer Digital At b-it, a team of excellent scientific leaders Energy Research Center, several award-win- attracts the best students from all over the ning blockchain projects in the public sector, world. At the same time, b-it is a strategic and studies on the potential of quantum partner of the regional economy. computing, offering further research opportu- At b-it, research and teaching form an inte- nities for b-it students. This report once again grated unit at the highest level. International demonstrates fascinating doctoral theses orientation and diversity are a particular asset and the growing number of professorships and strength of our institution. In our teach- achieved by b-it graduates. ing, we build on the complementary strength of our participating institutions. The partner universities demonstrated their research leadership in different leagues Graduates of b-it are sought after as special- of the robotics championship, which has ists and experts, regionally and internation- become a major student attractor. We also ally. They transport know-how and innovation congratulate b-it Founding Director Matthias into science and economy. Jarke who received the prestigious Peter P. Chen lifetime award in Conceptual Modeling We are shaping the digital change in a dialog as only the second German researcher. Be- between economy and society. Our focus is ginning with the new academic year, Profes- Data Science in the application areas Media, sor Jarke will hand over his responsibility Life Sciences and Autonomous Systems. 2 b-it Report 2020 Officers Report by the Scientific Directors Scientific Directors b-it offers highly selective graduate IT educa- Prof. Dr. Stefan Decker, Prof. Dr. Matthias Jarke tion to top international students in a unique RWTH Aachen University, Fraunhofer FIT cooperation between top research universities Prof. Dr. Paul G. Plöger, Hochschule Bonn- Rhein-Sieg and the Fraunhofer Society. English-language Prof. Dr. Stefan Wrobel, University of Bonn, Master Programs link Data Science and AI to Fraunhofer IAIS Robotics, Media and Communications, and the Life Sciences. b-it graduates enjoy an excellent placement record in research and industry, as Coordinators b-it Study Programs Prof. Dr. Stefan Decker Prof. Dr. Ulrike Meyer, RWTH Aachen several examples in this report illustrate to- RWTH Aachen University University, Media Informatics gether with research opportunities by new b-it and Fraunhofer FIT Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bajorath, University of Bonn related research clusters. Prof. Dr. Gerhard K. Kraetzschmar † Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Autonomous Since many years, b-it has pursued active social Systems media networking. A lively Facebook commu- nity of alumni, students, and newcomers proves Assistant Directors/Study Advisors particularly valuable in the CoVid19 pandemic Iman Awaad, M.Sc., Hochschule Bonn-Rhein- which confronts incoming students with special Sieg obstacles and frequently changing travel regula- Prof. Dr. Matthias Jarke Dr. Thomas Bode, University of Bonn tions. Student advisors Dr. Alexandra Reitel- RWTH Aachen University Arnab Chakrabarti, RWTH Aachen University mann, Iman Awaad, Arnab Chakrabarthi and and Fraunhofer FIT René Röpke, RWTH Aachen University Rene Röpke deserve high credit for managing Dr. Alexandra Reitelmann, University of Bonn this complex process, culminating in our world- wide welcome virtual Welcome Party with over International Advisory Board 100 participants and tempting samples from Prof. Dr. Gerhard Fischer, University regional sights and cuisines. Our study coordi- of Colorado, Boulder Dame Prof. Wendy Hall PhD, University of nators Bajorath and Meyer dealt efficiently with Southampton, Southampton the complex teaching and exam regulations in Dr. Christian Illek, Deutsche Telekom, Bonn the new setting. Prof. Paul G. Plöger Prof. Dr. Ossama Khatib, Robotics Lab, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences Stanford University, Palo Alto In late 2020, Professor Stefan Decker will Prof. Dr. Thomas Lengauer, Max-Planck take over the position of RWTH Aachen’s b-it Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken Scientific Director from b-it Founding Director Dr. Thomas Ogilvie, Deutsche Post DHL Group Matthias Jarke after over 18 years. Prof. Decker Dr. Simone Rehm, University of Stuttgart held positions in Stanford University and at the University of Southern California, and led a re- b-it Foundation Council search institute in Ireland, prior to joining RWTH Annette Storsberg (Chair), State Secretary Aachen and Fraunhofer FIT in 2015. at the Ministry of Culture and Science NRW Prof. Dr. Stefan Wrobel Thomas Trännapp (Secretary), Vice Chancellor, In September 2020, Emmanuel Müller resigned University of Bonn and RWTH Aachen University Fraunhofer IAIS from his b-it funded professorship. His Data Sci- Dr. Raoul Klingner, Division Director Research, Fraunhofer Society ence position will be re-filled as soon as possible. Ashok Sridharan, Mayor, City of Bonn Special thanks go to our Foundation Board Chair Sebastian Schuster, County Chairman, Annette Storsberg, Manager Thomas Traennapp, Rhein-Sieg-Kreis and our Rectorates for steering the b-it Foun- Prof. Dr. Aloys Krieg, Vice Rector Education, dation through historically low interest rates. RWTH Aachen University Holger Gottschalk, Chancellor, University Stay healthy and enjoy reading! of Bonn Prof. Dr. Hartmut Ihne, Rector, Hochschule Stefan Decker, Matthias Jarke Bonn-Rhein-Sieg RWTH Aachen University and Fraunhofer FIT Paul G. Plöger, Stefan Hagen, President, Bonn / Rhine-Sieg Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences Chamber of Commerce Stefan Wrobel, b-it Report 2020 University of Bonn and Fraunhofer IAIS b-it in Profile Africa 2% Rest of Asia 14% Germany 16% The southwest of North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the largest, most vibrant locations in Pakistan 4% the European media and telecom industry. Rest of It is also one of the most innovative and Europe 11% fast-growing biotech regions in Germany, and there is much interest in the emerging The fields of mechatronics and robotics. To make Americas 3% it the optimal place to study for professional work in these fields, the Bonn-Aachen Inter- China 13% national Center for Information Technology India 38% (b-it) has been established as a joint venture of RWTH Aachen University, University of Bonn, Home countries of new b-it students. Bonn-Rhine-Sieg University of Applied Sci- ence (BRSU) and the research institutes of the leadership, creativity and the ability to inno- Fraunhofer Institute Center Birlinghoven Castle. vate. b-it master programs are distinguished by their international orientation (structured b-it offers highly selective International Mas- according to the European ECTS standard), ter Programs in Applied IT, as well as summer their focus on IT competence, and the deep / winter schools for qualified undergraduate integration of teaching and research. computer science students. The b-it Research School offers doctoral training. Since 2018, For the participating universities, the b-it most courses take place in the newly erected programs have also helped pave the way b-it building on the Poppelsdorf Campus towards a smooth transition from the tradi- for Mathematics and Computer Science of tional