Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences (THI) specialises in research in areas such as mobility and artificial intelligence. At the invitation of THI President Prof Dr Werner Schober, the State Secretary at the BMBF, Prof Dr Sabine Döring, visited the university in mid-January to gain an impression of the research activities and to talk about future topics relevant to University of Applied Sciences (UAS), such as the recruitment of young talent, the importance of transfer and innovation as the "third mission" of universities and the doctoral opportunities at UAS.

In recent years, THI has been able to establish several important research and transfer networks, including the project "menschINbewegung" as part of the Federal Government and Länder initiative "Innovative Hochschule" (Innovative University). The THI runs it together with its partner, the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. As one of only six projects, "menschINbewegung" is taking part in both funding periods of the programme. The project is dedicated to the topics of digitalisation and sustainability and is testing new forms of cooperation between science and society, for example in a science forum for the region that serves as a meeting and learning space.

The visit also focused on other lighthouse projects at THI: among other things, the university has established the SAFIR network on the topic of mobility, which is one of ten FH-Impuls partnerships funded as part of the "Research at Universities of Applied Sciences" programme and deals with vehicle and road safety as well as autonomous driving functions and electromobility. The research and test centre CARISSMA (Center of Automotive Research on Integrated Safety Systems and Measurement Area), which State Secretary Döring visited during her visit, is closely linked to SAFIR. The THI was also successful in the BMBF programme "FH-Personal".

In recent years, the BMBF has steadily expanded its funding for UAS, thereby taking account of developments in the research landscape. Research-intensive universities in particular show how powerful and valuable UAS are for Germany's innovation ecosystem - not only in research, but also in the transfer of knowledge from universities to industry and society.