Mission Statement

Identity
DFKI conducts research on "human-centric AI" in the major groundbreaking areas of AI research and applications with a focus on socially relevant topics and scientific excellence.
We are convinced that AI technologies can help in meeting the great societal challenges we face such as man-made global warming, social injustices, and dangerous diseases. We dedicate ourselves with great energy to work on AI solutions to these tasks. As the largest, independent AI research center worldwide, we initiate, realize and support many activities to develop reliable and trustworthy AI and secure a leading role for Germany and Europe in the international competition.

Excellence
DFKI provides outstanding research services in all areas of AI, in particular, in the transfer of basic research findings to commercial and social applications. We maintain close working relationships with the basic research resources of the universities at DFKI locations. Every day new perspectives open up for the fascinating uses of AI – from our use of methods and technologies in every field of AI, through team projects and consortia, through our close association with application topics and engineering, and our work with innovative companies to promote the continued advance of AI.

Evaluation
DFKI submits its achievements in basic and application research as well as its transfer activities to continuous external evaluation. Project milestones and results are periodically reviewed both internally and by our internationally staffed Scientific Advisory Board. Prior to publication, our scientific writings undergo peer review processes and, in the case of competitive applications for funding, expert audits.

Transfer
DFKI is structured as a non-profit public-private partnership and as an application-oriented research center; commercial use of our research is not our primary goal. DFKI research findings are transferred through cooperative agreements with business partners in sponsored projects, through direct orders (predominantly, from DFKI shareholders), and through academic teaching, consulting, spin-offs, and active contributions to the public discourse.

Team
DFKI is where a diverse and multinational team is actively shaping the future. Our goal is to further strengthen this diversity throughout our management team. DFKI creates career opportunities for its young scientists in science as well as in industry and supports entrepreneurial spin-offs from within based on DFKI's own research results.
 
Funding
DFKI has no institutional core funding. Continued operation and expansion are based on project acquisition, successful evaluation of the scientific quality of its achievements, and commercial transfer. Our goal, most importantly, under these conditions is to continue our work and further development guided by high standards of excellence, entrepreneurial thinking, and innovative ideas.