DataLab WestSax

One of the winners of the "Living labs for innovation-based regional value creation" appeal that was launched in 2021 is the "DataLab WestSax" project.

Living labs serve as a model and should generate not only specific added value for the region but also transferable know-how for the establishment of further living labs in Saxony. Representatives from science, commerce and municipal institutions all work together in these living labs.

The project is being supervised by a team put together by Prof. Heiko Gebauer from the Fraunhofer Centre for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW (Fraunhofer IMW) as well as the team of Prof. Christoph Laroque at Zwickau University of Applied Sciences.

The "DataLab WestSax" is a mobile, hybrid living lab for digital transformation. Private-sector and publicly-owned companies in the Western Saxony region should be empowered to use the wide variety of opportunities offered by data-driven technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML). New value creation potentials are to be identified by means of data processing and analysis. Throughout the project, companies in Western Saxony will be given the chance to acquire diverse and extensive knowledge on data-based value creation. Experts in the living lab will then help them integrate the experiences and know-how gained into their business practices.

The project has been awarded € 1.5 million in financial support from the simul⁺ future initiative of the State Ministry of Regional Development - on the basis of the budget adopted by the Saxon state parliament.