"Connect.Exchange.Grow." was the motto of this year's 14th Silicon Saxony Day. Around 400 technology experts and interested parties from Germany's high-tech community met on Tuesday, 18 June 2019 at the Congress Center of Dresden International Airport. Among other things, plenary presentations by Google and Fraunhofer showed the opportunities and possibilities of innovative technologies such as cloud and AI.

Saxony's largest industry event with more than 400 participants from all over Germany At Silicon Saxony Day, representatives of important companies, research institutions and politicians discussed innovations and their effects on the economy, science and society. This year, the industry meeting was dedicated to the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Exciting plenary lectures by Google and Fraunhofer, expert sessions with more than 60 lectures and AI demonstrators showed the many facets of Artificial Intelligence with its applications ranging from industry 4.0 to smart agriculture. 30 exhibitors presented their products and innovations. Alexander Krock, Head of Google Cloud Customer Engineering at Google Germany, showed in his plenary lecture how companies already use artificial intelligence today to optimize their processes and develop new services.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft working on study on KI in Saxony The KI4me Roadshow of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft was presented by Dr. Peter Schneider, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS / Development of Adaptive Systems EAS in Dresden. Together with the TU Dresden, the institute is currently working on an overview of the AI competencies and activities in the Free State. In his keynote, Schneider presented the first results of the study "Artificial Intelligence - Competences and Innovation Potential in Saxony" (KIKiS). The most important finding: "Due to the small-scale corporate structure in Saxony, the bundling of existing activities, resources and competencies is absolutely necessary in order to create a powerful AI supply structure". Schneider therefore sees Silicon Saxony Day as an important communication platform, which is intended to promote networking and knowledge transfer between the relevant Saxon actors. "In the eight Expert Sessions, we will look at the megatrend of artificial intelligence and work out in particular the opportunities that digitalization offers for Saxony as a business location," says Prof. Dr. Frank Schönefeld, board member of Silicon Saxony e.V. "The topics range from Smart Automation to Maintenance Management 4.0 and company foundation. A session on the influence of digitization on technology roadmaps for the semiconductor industry is also important". Software companies discuss digitization with politicians Of great importance for the development of Saxon AI competence is the close networking with the Saxon software industry. For this reason, the 5th Saxon IT Summit was part of the 14th Silicon Saxony Day. In the run-up to the Saxon state elections, this event this year opened up the opportunity for experts from business, science and politics to point out the opportunities and challenges of digitisation in Saxony. At a panel discussion, representatives of the Saxon parties discussed their ideas for the further growth of Saxony's most dynamic industry. Qualified employees are a particularly important prerequisite for this. And that's why a recruiting event was part of Silicon Saxony Day again this year. A speed dating event was intended to help ICT talents establish contacts with Saxon companies. More than 120 students registered. A lounge area was also available for networking. In addition to all speakers and participating companies, the board members of Silicon Saxony e.V. were also available for personal discussions. ICT sector as future engine for Saxony's economy Information and communication technology (ICT) is an important component of the Saxon economy as a whole. According to current information from the Saxon Ministry of Economics, about 2,400 companies in Saxony belong to this future-oriented industry, 150 more than at the last data collection in 2016. Most of them (67 percent) have specialized in software. This segment also recorded the strongest growth with an increase of eleven percent.   With 64,000 employees (2017) and a turnover of 15.1 billion euros (2016), they are not only of great economic importance. ICT companies, from semiconductor manufacturers to service providers, will continue to be of considerable strategic importance for the success of the Saxon economy in the future as a basis for digitization.About SILICON SAXONY e. V. With around 350 members, Silicon Saxony e. V. is the largest high-tech network in Saxony and one of the largest microelectronics and IT clusters in Germany and Europe. Since its foundation in 2000, Silicon Saxony has been a self-financed association linking manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, universities, research institutes, public institutions as well as industry-relevant start-ups in Saxony and beyond. The overriding goals of the network work are, among other things, the expansion and strengthening of Europe's leading microelectronics location as well as the advancement of the parallel development towards a software state Saxony. The complete position paper can be downloaded under the following link: "Softwareland Saxony - Using Digitization, Shaping the Future"(German only)Further linkswww.silicon-saxony.de  www.silicon-saxony-day.de

Impressions Silicon Saxony Day 2019

Pictures: Silicon Saxony e. V. / Sven Claus