15.08.2026

Info Letter September 2024

Dear Readers:

Last week, we welcomed a prominent guest from Silicon Valley to TU Dortmund University: Tech investor Andreas von Bechtolsheim gave an inspiring talk on how startups succeed in bringing technological innovations to market. He encouraged entrepreneurial teams to get started with their ideas – and there are quite a few of them at TU Dortmund University. In mid-September, three promising young start-ups were honored with the TU Start-up Award and received a total of 14,000 euros in prize money. With the new Entrepreneurship Certificate, the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer is giving all students the opportunity to learn the basics of entrepreneurial activity.

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers particularly great potential for innovation. How it will transform industry and logistics was discussed by around 700 participants from Germany and abroad at a conference and a trade fair held in the Westfalenhallen in early September with the participation of TU Dortmund University. The Lamarr Award was presented for the first time at “AI24 - The Lamarr Conference”: It went to Prof. Sebastian Thrun of Stanford University, an internationally renowned pioneer in the field of AI.

You can find more news from September in this info letter.

Best regards
Manfred Bayer
President of TU Dortmund University

News from TU Dortmund University

Group photo with eight people on a stage, with AI24 in the background

Two Events Showcasing Artificial Intelligence

“AI24 – The Lamarr Conference” and the “IN2AI” trade fair attracted more than 700 people to the Westfalenhallen in September.

Andreas von Bechtholsheim, a man with gray hair and a light blue shirt, stands in front of a blackboard with a microphone in his hand and gives a lecture.

“The Best Time to Start a Business is Now”

Tech investor Andreas von Bechtolsheim spoke on campus about lessons learned from 40 years of experience in Silicon Valley.

You can see a portrait photo of Prof. Peitz in a room with white walls in the background.

KION Supports the New Endowed Professorship for Safe Autonomous Systems

Professor Sebastian Peitz is joining the Department of Computer Science and bringing with him an ERC Starting Grant.

News is displayed on a laptop and a cell phone

East Germans Have Less Trust in Journalism and Democracy

The long-term survey led by Prof. Michael Steinbrecher from the Institute of Journalism shows differences between regions.

A portrait that an older lady with long black and gray hair has taken of herself in a mirror with a compact camera. She is looking through the mirror into the camera, which she is holding in her hand next to her head. Curtains and two bright lampshades can be seen around her in the room.

“An important archive for fashion world”

Dr. Jan Watzlawick digitizes photographs from the legacy of Angelica Blechschmidt, former editor-in-chief of VOGUE Germany.

The picture shows a technical structure. In the foreground is the artistic visualization of the top quark entanglement. This is represented by two circular poles connected by an energetic beam of light.

New Perspectives on the Complex World of Quantum Physics

Dr. Andrea Knue contributed with her team to an article in “Nature” that reports on quantum entanglement between top quarks.

13 people stand on a stage, three of them hold a prize in their hands

TU Dortmund University Awards Prizes to Three Young Startups

The founders of Simplyfined, InTolerApp, and SLAPStack received a total of 14,000 euros at the TU Start-up Award.

New Microdegree Program Entrepreneurship Starts in Winter Semester

TU Dortmund University offers students eleven certificate courses on subjects ranging from sustainability to data management.

Photovoltaic system on green lawn with clouds in the sky.

Construction of Large Solar Plant in Preparation

Preparations for the photovoltaic system on Emil-Figge-Straße began at the end of October.

TU Members Put Science Communication on Their Agenda

The new issue of the science magazine “mundo” looks at how researchers are engaging with the public in a variety of formats.

All news

Editorial office: Lisa Burgardt

Phone: ++49 (0) 231 - 755 6456
E-mail: lisa.burgardt@tu-dortmund.de

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