IT Security Why the Ruhr area is the perfect location

Excellent news for Ruhr: Max Planck Society sets up a new Institute for Cyber Security and Privacy in Bochum. “Consequently, our IT Security research centre, which ranks on top of the international league tables thanks to the Casa Cluster of Excellence, will gain the perfect collaboration partner right next door,” points out Professor Axel Schölmerich, Rector at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB).

Its research activities are, moreover, frequently tied in with the work conducted at the Department of Computer Science at TU Dortmund University. “The RUB’s research into IT security complements our own core competencies in the fields of artificial intelligence and big data,” says Professor Ursula Gather, Rector at TU Dortmund University.

A plethora of research subjects

IT security experts at RUB study the full breadth and width of research subjects in this field, from web browser and smartphone security, via embedded security that provides security solutions for the Internet of Things, to the human factor in IT security. The latter is studied in depth in projects at the NRW Graduate School “Sec-Human”, where engineers and humanities scholars conduct joint research, and the Research Training Group Nerd NRW, both of which are coordinated by Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security at Ruhr-Universität.

In Dortmund, computer science has a long tradition: this is where one of the first departments for computer science in Germany was established as far back as 1972. Today, the Department coordinates one of four national Competence Centres for Machine Learning, is involved in the Dortmund Data Science Center, and monitors various developments in industry 4.0 – first and foremost in logistics and production.

Unique ecosystem for cyber security

A unique ecosystem for cyber security has evolved in close vicinity to Ruhr-Universität. Bochum, for example, is the European leader with regard to start-ups in the field of cyber security that are, in addition, supported by the IT security incubator Cube 5. The Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) in Bochum, which focuses on the interactions between the Internet and society, likewise contributes to Bochum’s ecosystem.

The technology park in the neighbouring city of Dortmund, too, is proof of the Ruhr’s established track record when it comes to implementing research findings in industrial applications. In the past three decades, numerous spin-offs from computer science departments have set up their businesses at the technology park, in close vicinity to the university.

Creating Knowledge Networks

“By establishing a centre in Bochum, the Max Planck Institute thus falls in line with our strategy of networking with third-party institutions in accordance with our guiding principle: Creating Knowledge Networks,” explains Axel Schölmerich. “At the same time, it provides an inducement for promoting and expanding the science hub Bochum.” Both universities have been collaborating with great success for many years with the existing Max Planck Institutes in the Ruhr area.

“This is excellent news for Bochum,” says Bochum Mayor Thomas Eiskirch. “I am very happy that this is how the Max Planck Society voted. The new Max Planck Institute will be established on the foundation of existing excellence, and Bochum will thus cement its position as the capital of IT security. Congratulations to Axel Schölmerich, the team and everyone involved.”

Location suggestions

Mark 51°7 seems the perfect location for the new Max Planck Institute. This is where RUB, together with its partners, will be promoting the transfer between science, industry and society; the university already signed the lease for the former Opel admin building back in spring, with the aim of setting up a Maker Space on the premises. The Bosch Group has recently set up an enterprise there, which likewise specialises in IT security.