A South African perspective on Big Data and the Internet of Things Closer cooperation of Aalen University and the CUT Bloemfontein
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Klauck (3. von rechts) war zu Gast an der Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein (Südafrika).
“Heading to Bloemfontein in South Africa” was the slogan for Prof. Dr. Ulrich Klauck. He was invited to speak at a workshop on Big Data and the Internet of Things at the Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein. One of his objectives during his trip was to initiate cooperation between the informatics courses of both universities.
Prof. Dr Ulrich Klauck was one of two main speakers at the workshop asked to lecture on the subjects of Big Data and machine learning. Prof. Dr Nomusa Dlodlo, of the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria (South Africa), showed results of her research on the Internet of Things. In return, the professors and academic staff of CUT presented their own diversified research programs to the guests. How can flexible production lines be realized for the industry? How can crops in agriculture be efficiently watered? How can indigenous knowledge be merged with metric climate measurements to develop climate forecasts? These exciting questions are examples of tasks for which the South African scientists are developing hardware and software solutions.
The result of this professional exchange can be seen. Klauck and Dlodlo have been jointly appointed as Visiting Professors of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. Moreover, Dlodlo expressed her interest in closer professional exchange between her native university of Pretoria and Aalen University.
Klauck’s next steps will be to further bolster cooperation with the CUT. “The faculty is basically structured in the same way as the Faculty of Electronics and Informatics in Aalen - perfect conditions for a fruitful exchange,” he says. In Winter 2016/17, Klauck plans on returning to CUT to supervise theses in the field of machine learning and assume a lecturing position. His main attention, however, will be devoted to jointly establishing research projects in autonomic systems and machine learning. Interest in these subjects is as large at the CUT as it is in Aalen.
Background:
In 2005, an official cooperation was established between the Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein and the University of Aalen. It is mainly lead by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Holzbaur, especially through projects in Economics.