Today, high-level guests will meet at STATION-Berlin for the 15th Digital Summit of the Federal Government: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, six Federal Ministers, one Minister of State and more than 1,000 experts from the digital sector will discuss how the potential of data from administrations, academia, industry and society can be better harnessed to promote innovation, all under the motto “Creating Digital Values Together”. Dr Volker Wissing and Dr Robert Habeck want to take this subject forward by developing a national data strategy and establishing a data institute.

Federal Minister for Digital Dr Volker Wissing:

We need a new, open data culture in Germany, because data are the essence of digital transformation. They define production processes and supply chains as well as our consumption and our ways of life. Smart use of data is the key to innovation and sustainable growth. This is why this year’s Digital Summit is focused on data and the associated digital value creation. We, the Federal Government, want to promote better availability and usability of even more data to make new projects possible for start-ups, businesses, the scientific community and civil society. Digitalization demands that we take united and determined action. We need to overcome our eternal doubts and simply act faster. This also means that we need to help all the stakeholders use more and better data in conformity with the law, because in the end, this will be beneficial for everybody.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Dr Habeck:

Today’s Digital Summit is a summit for the future viability of our country. At the moment, much aid is needed to overcome ongoing crises. All the more, we must find the strength to look beyond the hardship of the day and shape the future. Together we must drive the transformation of our economies and societies forward. In this context, it is essential that we dovetail digital and ecological transformation. Markets all over the world are becoming ‘greener’. Competition for smart green technologies already started long ago. German businesses are very well positioned here and enjoy an excellent reputation. However, if we want to stay competitive, we must become better at handling digital data wisely. Availability of data is key to future competitiveness. Digital services, automation, networked manufacturing or machine learning, the are all based on data. The enormous task we are facing is to make standardized data available in good quality and establish a data sharing culture while ensuring sufficient data protection.

Data Strategy and Data Institute

The new Federal Government Data Strategy is currently developed by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI). It will contribute to the Federal Government’s strategic goal of shaping an attractive, safe, secure and agile data economy and is intended to increase availability and usability of data. Last but not least, it will lay the foundation for innovative applications of the key technology artificial intelligence. In this context, the BMDV is investing in a new quality and innovation centre, which will promote the development of trustworthy AI solutions, for instance in the field of autonomous driving or to improve interconnectivity of local public transport, and where specific applications will be trialled in a lab. A separate AI test label is to be developed to foster trust in AI applications, and standardised interfaces and networked data rooms are planned to facilitate data exchange. The new AI Innovation centre will receive funding totalling 30 million euros. The project is coordinated by acatech. The first of two sites will be established in Berlin in 2023.

BMWK and BMDV are stepping up the deployment of the data institute. Its aim is to facilitate data access and use. To do so, the institute will follow a new, agile and demand-driven approach. External expertise from the business and scientific communities, civil society and public administration was included in the founding process through a stakeholder consultation and a five-member founding commission. The founding commission has already presented its first conceptual recommendations for the data institute, whose establishment is scheduled to start in 2023. The data institute will be an essential element in strengthening the data economy. It will promote innovation and serve the common good.

New format: Specific projects instead of countless papers

The new government developed a new concept for the Digital Summit. It is now jointly hosted by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The number of platforms has been reduced from ten to seven. The focus of the Digital Summit is now on specific projects.
Various projects of the government departments were presented on both days of this year’s Summit – from learning platforms for data literacy over intelligent robotics in agriculture to data-driven applications in industry and logistics.

Selected projects:

• The cross-sectoral Manufacturing-X industry initiative aims at advancing a data-driven value creation network for the entire industry. To this end, common rules and technical standards are to be developed, which enable new data-based applications across company borders. The BMWK is aware of the great potential of this initiative to improve the sustainability, resilience and competitiveness of the industry. Manufacturing-X is using Catena-X, the lighthouse project for the digitalization of the automotive and supplier industries, as a starting point for a comprehensive cross-sectoral approach.
• The BMDV wants to significantly increase the provision of mobility data and build a trustworthy data infrastructure to support this. On the one hand, there is the Mobilithek, a national access point to publicly available mobility data, such as timetable data or real-time traffic data. On the other hand, there is the Mobility Data Space, a space for sharing and trading data on a voluntary basis. Linking the two platforms, creates a common data ecosystem which can help improve mobility services.
• The electronic consignment note for shipping and heavy goods transport shows how a common open source solution can connect the entire logistics chain. The digitalization of trade documents creates a data basis on which in-house applications and secondary uses can be build. This would, for instance, make it possible for products to be ordered automatically, which can be very convenient for hospitals to secure the supply of important drugs.

Students from the Hasso-Plattner-Institute participated again in this year’s Digital Summit. They provided exclusive insights on the Instagram channels of the BMWK and BMDV and conducted exciting interviews with numerous experts from the public and private sectors.

Participating in the Digital Summit on behalf of the Federal Government: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal Ministers Nancy Faeser, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Steffi Lemke, Hubertus Heil, Minister of State Claudia Roth as well as the hosts, Federal Ministers Dr Volker Wissing and Dr Robert Habeck.

Further information can be found at www.digitalgipfel.de