Patrick Glauner, Prof Artificial Intelligence, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Germany Shares AI Policy-Making in EU Among His Significant Achievements

Patrick Glauner, Full Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Deggendorf Institute of Technology

CDO Magazine publishes everything outstanding that is happening in the world of data and analytics. We introduce you to remarkable data organizations and great leaders through our special lists and nominations. We work throughout the year to bring you the latest in what is breaking down barriers and setting trends in the world of data. Our lists recognize the tremendous work performed to advance the cause of data and analytics worldwide, and we showcase the thought leaders' accomplishments in their specific lines of work.

Our Leading Data Academic Leaders List 2022 honors these great academic leaders, introducing them on a global platform where they share their insights and work, highlighting their significant successes in the previous year, the challenges they faced, and their aspirations and goals for 2022.

Introducing: Patrick Glauner, Full Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Deggendorf Institute of Technology (Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany)

1. What were your most significant achievements in 2021, specifically in the last two years, and why?

As an expert witness, I advised the German federal parliament and the French National Assembly in spring 2021 on the "AI Act" proposed by the European Commission. I presented my view on that regulatory framework, highlighted various shortcomings of it, and answered a number of questions from the members of parliament. I am glad about being heavily involved in AI policy making in the EU. Additionally, I have published three books with Springer in the last two years.

2. What challenges are you facing in the academic data field?

In recent years, many companies have started to invest in AI in order to stay competitive. However, the sad truth is that some 80% of all AI projects fail or do not result in any financial value. In my view, one of the underlying causes is the way AI is taught in universities, as most courses cover only purely methodological aspects of AI. The focus of my work is to bridge this gap by binding together theoretical foundations and practical applications. At my institution, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, I increase our students' employability by also enabling them to think in a broader and business-oriented sense of AI innovation management. They are therefore at the forefront of building AI applications that work, rather than building mere prototypes.

3. What traits and qualities are required to be a successful academic data leader?

In addition to producing papers, you also need to produce outcomes. That is why you personally need to roll up your sleeves, build things, test them, measure them, and see how they work in a real-world setting.

4. Tell us about your priorities in 2022. What are your key targets?

I am currently working on a new textbook that will make the field of mathematics more accessible to computer science students. My goal is to complete most of the content by the end of the year. I will remain involved in AI policy making. For example, I have been invited by another national parliament to give oral evidence on the AI policy of the EU later this year.

5. What advice would you offer aspiring academic leaders to help them prepare for the role?

Publishing papers and getting research grants is important. However, in order to become an academic leader, you must do more and be different from the large number of other academics. That is why you must develop a unique expertise in some sub-field in and around data science, and actively promote your expertise by demonstrating outcomes and industrial impact.

Patrick Glauner became a Full Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Deggendorf Institute of Technology at age 30, - ranked no. 29 worldwide in the overall competition of the most innovative universities in the 2021 World's Universities with Real Impact (WURI). Prof. Glauner is also the founder and CEO of skyrocket.ai GmbH, an AI consulting firm. As an expert witness, he regularly advises the German federal parliament on AI, as well as various federal and state ministries in Germany and abroad. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Luxembourg. He was previously Head of the Data Academy at Alexander Thamm GmbH, Innovation Manager for Artificial Intelligence at Krones Group, a Fellow at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and a visiting researcher at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).

Patrick Glauner is one of our Leading Academic Data Leaders in 2022. To discover the full list, click here now.