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Sunset at the North Campus © Roland Baege​/​TU Dortmund
Wilo Global WATER AI Academy

Partnership for Water and AI

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In the photo, Oliver Hermes, Ina Brandes, and President Prof. Manfred Bayer are standing in front of a digital screen. They are standing side by side and smiling at the camera for the photo. © WILO SE
Oliver Hermes, CEO of the Wilo Group (left), and Prof. Manfred Bayer, Rector of TU Dortmund University (right), signed a memorandum of understanding in the presence of Ina Brandes, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of Culture and Science (center), marking the start of their collaboration within the framework of the Wilo Global WATER AI Academy.
Two Dortmund-based players want to pool their expertise to address the global challenges of water supply using modern AI technology: To this end, Rector Prof. Manfred Bayer and Oliver Hermes, CEO of Wilo, recently signed a joint letter of intent, marking the start of the collaboration through the Global WATER AI Academy. As part of the cooperation, TU Dortmund University initially plans to offer the “WATER AI” certificate course.

“The Technical University of Dortmund and Wilo are united by their close ties to the Dortmund location and their global orientation,” explained Prof. Manfred Bayer at the signing at Wilopark, the company's headquarters. “The collaboration brings together Wilo's industry and market expertise with our excellent research profile and high standards of university teaching. In this way, the Global WATER AI Academy fits in perfectly with our vision for the Ruhr Innovation Lab of bringing together technology and sustainability in collaboration with partners.”

Minister Ina Brandes highlighted: “The cooperation between TU Dortmund University and Wilo combines excellent research with practical application. The close interlinking of academic expertise, entrepreneurial experience and a strong innovation ecosystem generates an impact that extends far beyond Dortmund. Graduates will undoubtedly benefit from this. This kind of entrepreneurial initiative is a real asset for North Rhine-Westphalia as a centre of science.”

With the signing of the memorandum of understanding, TU Dortmund University and Wilo have begun developing a partnership. The first step is the creation of the concept for the “WATER AI” certificate course, incorporating modules from the fields of urban planning, civil engineering, and computer science. In addition to the certificate program, the university and the company are planning further projects in the field of applied science focusing on water and AI. 

Transfer initiative unites universities and industry

The Dortmund-based Wilo Group is a pioneer in water technology and the global market leader in highly efficient circulation pumps. With the Global WATER AI Academy, the company established an international platform for innovation, education, and collaboration in 2026. “The quality of life of people around the world today and in the future depends to a large extent on whether we manage politically, economically and socially to consistently combine the elementary resource of water and the transformative power of artificial intelligence,” explained Oliver Hermes, who is also a member of the University Council at TU Dortmund University. “At Wilo, we have anchored this principle in our corporate strategy and are already merging water technology and AI. The Wilo Global WATER AI Academy is an expression of this. We are delighted about the keen interest in the initiative and the beginning of our collaboration with TU Dortmund University.”

The goal of the Global WATER AI Academy is to foster collaboration between research and industry in order to harness the potential of AI for water supply and develop clean, resilient, and smart water systems. In this field, TU Dortmund University contributes expertise not only from the faculties of Spatial Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, and Computer Science, but also from the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Another partner in the Global WATER AI Academy is the Scottish Heriot-Watt University, which is collaborating with Wilo to design an internationally recognized educational program.

Further information on the Global WATER AI Academy

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