Minister President Wüst Speaks at Microsoft’s International AI Partnership Conference in Bonn

Minister President Hendrik Wüst emphasized North Rhine-Westphalia’s (NRW) commitment to becoming a leading digital and quantum region during his keynote address at Microsoft’s international AI partnership conference, the “Microsoft AI Partner Training Roadshow,” held in Bonn on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. NRW was selected by Microsoft as the sole European location for this conference, underscoring the international significance of the Rhenish region in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) development. Other locations for the AI partner conferences include Santa Clara (USA), Tokyo (Japan), and Bengaluru and Hyderabad (India). More than 1,000 international experts from Microsoft partners attended the conference.

Minister President Hendrik Wüst stated, “North Rhine-Westphalia is transitioning from coal to AI. We aim to become a leading digital and quantum region. Hosting Microsoft’s prestigious partner conference in our region reaffirms our strategy for structural transformation in the Rhenish Revier and demonstrates international investors’ trust in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a robust industrial base, excellent research infrastructure, and a central location in Europe, we are well-positioned. We plan to leverage these advantages and intensify our efforts in AI education and training. AI presents enormous opportunities for addressing major contemporary challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, and common diseases. Accelerated research enabled by AI will significantly improve our ability to combat cancer and dementia in the coming years. AI is already enhancing our daily work, and in NRW, our goal is to develop a faster, more accessible, and technologically advanced administration. Microsoft’s training programs for our citizens enrich our efforts to establish NRW as a European AI hotspot.”

Agnes Heftberger, Chairwoman of Microsoft Germany, added, “Hosting our international partner roadshow in Bonn is a further step in our collaboration with North Rhine-Westphalia. Together, we are committed to ensuring that people, businesses, and the entire region benefit from the AI revolution. Microsoft is investing 3.2 billion euros in AI infrastructure, cloud capacity, and training in Germany over the coming years. Our new data center region in the Rhenish Revier lays the foundation for successful structural change. NRW is already on the right path toward a flourishing AI ecosystem.”

The establishment of Microsoft’s AI data centers is part of a broader strategy to further develop the sustainable digital and quantum region of the Rhenish Revier. To maximize the expected benefits, local municipalities, with state support, are working to establish two digital parks in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss and Rhein-Erft-Kreis districts. These digital parks will significantly aid local companies in developing digital business models.

Minister President Wüst remarked, “We aim to fully leverage the benefits of Microsoft’s AI data centers in the Rhenish Revier. We recognize AI’s vast value-creation potential for North Rhine-Westphalia and are on a promising path. The new digital parks in the Rhenish Revier could create up to 2,500 new jobs in each district. This expansion of our economic and research potential will preserve and create secure jobs, marking a significant success in structural transformation and offering promising prospects for the local population.”

Microsoft’s partner conferences are designed for companies preparing to deploy digital products for end customers, promoting knowledge exchange on new applications. The Bonn conference complements Microsoft’s announcement of an AI training initiative for over 100,000 people in the Rhenish Revier, supporting the state’s efforts to integrate AI into education and training.

Minister President Wüst’s participation in the Microsoft AI Partner Conference underscores a strong transatlantic partnership, further solidified during his visit to the USA in mid-April, which included a visit to Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, near Seattle. There, he met with Microsoft Vice-Chair and President Brad Smith to discuss current developments and the creation of a shared digital ecosystem in NRW.

The AI Partner Conference in Bonn also introduced Agnes Heftberger, the new Chairwoman of Microsoft Germany. Minister President Wüst and Heftberger discussed current challenges in AI education and training and the continued strengthening of the transatlantic partnership with Microsoft.

Background

North Rhine-Westphalia supports companies in AI training and education through the KI.NRW platform. The KI.Landkarte (AI Map) lists nearly 240 training opportunities, including degree programs, seminars, self-learning courses, student labs, and podcasts. Additionally, KI.NRW implements the successful Fraunhofer education initiative “Roberta,” which imparts digital skills in schools, into vocational training and education. Since August 2023, the newly established “AI Village,” an AI innovation campus in Hürth, has been assisting educational institutions in integrating AI and robotics into vocational training.

With targeted initiatives, the state government supports craft businesses (“AI and Digital Offensive HANDwerk.NRW”), retail (“AI Navigator for Retail”), and small and medium-sized enterprises (ZaKI.D) in implementing AI-based solutions. Training and education formats are the core of these offerings. The introduction of artificial intelligence is part of the digitalization of the state administration and is therefore considered in all current and future digitalization projects.

For more information about the digital and quantum region Rhein Revier, click here.