25 ideas were selected in the first round of the idea contest. Here is an overview of all the winning ideas, grouped under the headings of ‘Work and Participation’, ‘Inclusion and Diversity’, ‘Administration and Democracy’ and ‘Knowledge and Learning’. Prepare to be inspired!
Winning Ideas Round 1
Work & Participation
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Collecting and using data relating to a person’s well-being in order to be able to take preventative action – this is the aim of the idea developed by the association Institut für Digitale Assistenzsysteme and the non-profit company TheraOp. The results of AI-based data evaluation are used to identify a person’s health risks in the work environment as well as effective prevention strategies..
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Together with the company LEAD Machine Learning GmbH, the municipal company Berlin Waste Management wish to improve their employees’ health by reducing their stress and contacts. To this end, an AI application is to be developed that will allow for optimised resource and trip planning. In this way, traffic safety is also to be increased and a contribution is to be made to climate protection.
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The company FixMyCity, HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU), the association CorrelAid and the City of Aachen intend to develop an AI application that can be used by public administration when planning safe infrastructure, with the aim of contributing to greater bicycle and pedestrian traffic safety while teaching the users how to use AI in a fun and intuitive way. Its aim is also to offer all users low-threshold and tangible access to AI in the area of bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
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The project outline focuses on identifying the skills that enable people to collaborate constructively with AI and on developing people-centred design recommendations. Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, the University of Hohenheim, the FOM University of Applied Sciences and the company youCcom GmbH have set their sights on the considered, sustainable and effective use of AI to prevent an unsuitable strain being placed on people by a technology which is penetrating our lives and the world of work.
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Home and workplace physiotherapy training with real-time feedback on people’s execution of the movements – this is the idea behind the pocket-based physiotherapist. The Saxony Wrestling Association, the company eCovery GmbH, the Centre for the Study of the Musculoskeletal System (ZESBO) and KIMS-EAO (Management School of the University of Kassel) intend to jointly develop an application with which existing training therapy concepts can also be improved.
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The focus here is on networking – by means of AI-based matching, social concept sponsors can use a digital platform to network with facilitators, knowledge owners and project partners, become more professional and initiate projects for the common good. The association Reflecta e.V., the education and research institution Ibugi e.V./CeSEB and the SME zauberware technologies GmbH & Co. KG intend to promote social entrepreneurship in this way and support entrepreneurs.
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Together with a technical and a data science/sales expert, the SME EE ENERGY ENGINEERS is taking a look at the area of corporate social responsibility – small and medium-sized enterprises will be assisted with their transformation processes in the direction of greater sustainability. Using AI, companies are to be assisted with everything from selecting their relevant focal areas and identifying appropriate measures to the implementation and evaluation of those measures.
Inclusion & Diversity
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‘T2K’ stands for ‘Text2Knowledge’ – and the name says it all: together with Dresden University of Applied Sciences, the start-up t2k GmbH is seeking to make the automatic translation of German text into plain language possible in order to make it easier for people with reading difficulties to access important information. The idea aims not only to boost inclusion and participation, but also to minimise the time and money spent on translation into plain language.
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Suitable, personalised leisure opportunities are not available to everyone ‒ what’s on offer is often not fully accessible. Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH and land in sicht AG intend to change this with their ‘Ask Black Forest Marie’ idea. In addition to basic information, ‘Ask Black Forest Marie’ will feature information regarding accessibility and will make trip destinations more accessible by improving the information available.
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With its 'Kaleidofon' AI application, the company Birds on Mars GmbH and the non-profit education institution barner 16/alsterarbeit gGmbH wish to make it possible for people with disabilities to discover their own artistic potential and to create art and music using speech and communication sounds. Kaleidofon will make an important contribution to social inclusion and participation in the primary labour market on the basis of its low-threshold accessibility and customised operation options.
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Entering the primary labour market represents a major challenge for many people with special needs. (Company) communication can be one of the challenges. The Westfalen-Lippe regional branch of the German Red Cross e.V. and the company SUTSCHE GbR therefore intend to develop an AI solution that will translate company instructions etc. into plain language. The aim is for this group of otherwise frequently disadvantaged people to be able to gain a foothold in the labour market.
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Workplace inclusion is often more challenging when there is manual work involved. With 'Mobile Assist', the company Sensrec Service UG and a computer science expert intend to afford vulnerable groups access to more complex work processes. The users are assisted by an easily accessible, intuitively operated, mobile and adaptive assistance system. Even workers who have a variety of tasks can benefit from this.
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Making digital participation possible in rural areas – this is the aim of the companies GETrequest GmbH, Venus.Werbeagentur GmbH, gwt Starnberg GmbH, and the district of Regen. The social information currently provided digitally is frequently still provided as a stand-alone solution. Using AI, the available services are to be interconnected and an optimum focus is to be achieved, thereby establishing an overarching information network on the topic of, for example, childcare or education and integration projects.
Administration & Democracy
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There are all kinds of funding available in Germany. With this field being so complex, it is not always easy to navigate your way around it. 'ALATUNO' is designed as a funding tool for everyone, offering applicants an intuitive and multilingual online experience. Together with a project manager and the company LangTec GmbH, the non-profit company Entwicklungswerk gGmbH wishes to make application processes easier and also take the strain off the authorities.
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Social workers provide important assistance with applying for social benefits. This time-consuming work could be made easier by 'INA', an intelligent form filling aid. 'INA', an idea of the faculties of Computer Science and Social Sciences at Nuremberg Tech in collaboration with the youth work organisation Don Bosco Jugendwerk Nürnberg and the Caritas association for the diocese of Regensburg e.V., aims to make things easier both for the professionals and those seeking assistance.
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Public administration has a wealth of knowledge in the form of data, but much of this is in an unstructured form. Together with a cooperation partner, Bundesdruckerei GmbH's Innovations department is seeking to make use of the huge potential offered by this data pool with 'KIWI', which stands for AI-based knowledge graphs. The aim is to bring the existing information together in order to ease the work of the authorities and thus improve the service offered to citizens.
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Conducting inclusive debates which take all groups into account is a challenge, especially online. To nevertheless make this possible at major participatory events, Dresden University of Applied Sciences and the companies Code Camp Leipzig UG, beta – Die Beteiligungsagentur GbR and Vivien Mast AI Solutions wish to develop an AI solution that will transparently map the event dynamics for the event moderators, thereby promoting everyone’s active participation.
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The district town of Bergheim and the company Westphalia Datalab GmbH have set themselves the goal of making public administration processes more efficient and more transparent. Their intelligent application management solution is designed to enable workers to estimate the volume of applications early on and optimise work processes, and thus communicate realistic processing times to the applicants.
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Poverty in spite of entitlement to social benefits – this is often the case because people are not actually aware that they are entitled to social benefits or because the process of applying for them serves as an obstacle. The ‘social benefits calculator’, which is a project idea of the Mannheim branch of the German Red Cross e.V., the Mannheim Institute of Applied Management Research (MiM) and the company Mach’sEinfach GmbH (i.G.), is designed to eliminate such obstacles by assisting with the procurement of information and with the application process.
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The language used by the authorities represents a challenge for a lot of people. The idea behind 'Unkafka' is to identify complex phrases in official letters and suggest explanatory alternatives. Nuremberg Tech and Germany’s Federal Employment Agency (BA) intend to offer case workers and lawyers assistance with generating assessments and ordinances in the form of an AI-based assistant.
Knowledge & Learning
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The Diakonie Rosenheim social welfare organisation and the company Birds on Mars GmbH wish to facilitate early, age-appropriate and reflected use of AI. The AI box will be used at day care centres to this end – children hold an object in the box, tell a story about it and, in return, are told another child’s story about the object. This teaches them about AI early on and introduces them to this kind of adaptive system in a fun way.
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Together with a creative developer, Potsdam University of Applied Sciences and the Berlin Tech Academy are developing what they are calling an ‘AI kit’ with the aim of teaching AI skills early on as well as across all educational pathways. Sensors, control buttons and actuators will feature in educational projects and workshops to make AI technology tangible for young people at school or in training and to encourage them to look into AI.
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The aim of the project idea Toni on Tour is to enable people with various educational backgrounds and mobility needs to participate in society’s cultural values. To give the city of Leipzig as an example, the association Notenspur Leipzig and the company Media Seasons GbR Kleinke & Burkersroda wish to make the history of music tangible. To this end, AI-assisted image recognition is to be developed for integration into an app used to teach children and young people.
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Teaching history and preserving the collective memory of the victims of Nazism are the concepts at the heart of the idea of the FC St. Pauli Museum e.V. and the digital agency Generation Digitale GmbH & CO. KG. With the help of an AI- and augmented reality-based app, the stories behind Stolperstein ‘stumbling blocks’ will be told, with images and information being displayed in the users’ real environment. In this way, the app combats history being forgotten and the denial of historical facts.
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This project idea is all about fostering young people with a migrant background by making educational offerings available that are just right for them. The digital and AI-based 'Skill Compass' will therefore recommend tailored offerings and the right mentors to young people. In this way, Ulm University, the START-Stiftung foundation gGmbH and the start-up Kiron gGmbH want to help the currently four million young people in Germany with a migrant background to use their full potential.
The Policy Lab of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs