1. Digital flagship projects in the Free State of Bavaria
A) Artificial machine intelligence competence network
B) Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation
C) Bavarian Hub for Digital Transformation
D) Virtual Reality in Bavaria
E) Set of measures to support digital entrepreneurs
F) Digital Classrooms
G) MediaLabs
H) Set of measures to support trade
I) Digitisation in health and care
J) Digital infrastructure
K) Digitisation in agriculture
L) Bavaria Digital master plan
M) Digital home
2. Bundesrat [second parliamentary chamber] initiative against improper and unlawful admonishment practices in data protection law / Minister of Justice Prof Dr Winfried Bausback: “Effectively preventing the misuse of admonishments for data protection violations across Germany / Creating legal security for citizens, societies as well as small and medium-sized businesses”
3. Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Political Educational Work becomes a partly legally responsible public agency with a new focus / Minister of Culture Bernd Sibler: “We are declaring war on political extremism on the internet!”
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1. Digital flagship projects in the Free State of Bavaria
Today at its meeting in the Technical University of Munich, the Ministerial Council passed far-reaching resolutions for all regions in Bavaria on the future topic of digitisation.
Minister-president Dr Markus Söder: “Artificial intelligence is the key strategy of the future. If Bavaria wants to continue to be successful, it must strengthen its whole industry with artificial machine intelligence in the future. This is why we are very committed in starting a new artificial intelligence strategy. Bavaria should become one of the leading regions for artificial machine intelligence globally. With new concepts and projects such as MediaLabs and new enterprise centres, we are ensuring that the chances of digitisation can be used in all regions of Bavaria.”
Minister of Science Prof Dr Marion Kiechle: “Artificial intelligence is one of the pioneering driving forces of the digital revolution. Bavaria will develop this mega-topic with the concept which was resolved upon today as one of the leading locations in Germany and Europe. The systematic linking of research at universities with the application-oriented research of extramural institutions, as well as the already internationally visible range of performance in future computing at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre is already achieving particular attention.”
Minister for Digitisation Georg Eisenreich: “We are also striking out in new directions outwards and, with the Bavarian Hub for Digital Transformation creating a new strategic control centre space for digitisation. With the merger between the chancellery department “Digital and media”, the business office of the Bavaria Digitisation Centre (ZD.B) as well as the new Bavarian Institute for Digital Transformation Research (BIT), we want to create a network of available competences, drive initiatives and strengthen entrepreneurial spirit.”
A) Artificial machine intelligence competence network
Bavaria is making huge progress in promoting the future initiative for artificial intelligence. The competence network “artificial machine intelligence” with locations in Munich, Erlangen, Würzburg, Augsburg, Bayreuth, Ingolstadt and Weiden makes up the centrepiece. The set of measures for the expansion of scientific AI competences is based on three pillars:
1. Strengthening AI competences at Bavarian universities:
2. Development and expansion of a country-wide AI competence association of extramural research institutes:
3. Development of a networked “BRAIN-campus” (Bavarian Research in Artificial Intelligence Network campus) around Munich: with the “BRAIN campus”, a new top research campus for digitisation will be created in Munich. The aim is to link existing and new research institutes with each other (LRZ, LMU and TUM research bodies, MSRM, Munich Centre for Human Development of Digital Systems, fortiss and Fraunhofer groups) and to make them known on an international level.
Over the next five years, around 280 million euros of funding and 95 positions are available for the competence network.
B) Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (BIT)
With regard to the rapid and profound change processes in all areas of life caused by the digital transformation, the establishment of the “Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation” is the right answer to continue to expand on the Bavarian top position in economy and academia in the digital age.
With the “Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation”, the Bavarian research groups in digitisation and internet will have a common research institute to establish an interdisciplinary network, create synergies and thus offer the ideal requirements for excellent, independent research. The new research institute will cover three areas: research, think tank and interaction. Research focuses are technical, economical and legal aspects. With the institute, Bavaria will gain a research institute which is unique in Germany and which will produce highly qualified young researchers in the area of digitisation research.
The institute shall be established as an independent institute of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (BAdW). Through its association with the internationally renowned Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ), top research and top infrastructure will be brought together in a manner which is unique in Germany.
C) Bavarian Hub for Digital Transformation
With the “Bavarian Hub for Digital Transformation”, a new strategic control centre for BAYERN DIGITAL shall be created. The aim is to substantially increase the visibility and political assertiveness of the Bavarian initiatives in this future field. For this, the chancellery department “Digital and media”, the business office of the Bavaria Digitisation Centre (ZD.B) as well as the new “Bavarian Institute for Digital Transformation Research (BIT)”, will be brought together in one location.
D) Virtual Reality in Bavaria
Virtual reality / 3D visualisation is the technological megatrend and the prime example of a lively digital future with enormous application potential for the whole economy. The cabinet has been working on the economic and technological aspects as well as the diverse application possibilities (for example, within the framework of police investigations) of virtual reality:
E) Set of measures to support digital entrepreneurs
Bavaria has excellent entrepreneurs, innovative companies and a strong public offer of funding to support start-ups. The digital start-up area of Bavaria can be strengthened further through additional measures for entrepreneurs:
F) Digital Classroom
Bavaria’s school pupils will be made fit for the digital future. In the 2018 budget, funds to the sum of 212.5 million euros have been planned for this. The digitisation of schools is based on three pillars:
G) MediaLabs
The successful conception of the existing Munich Media Lab should also be anchored in northern Bavaria. In Ansbach, creative ideas, creative teams or creative journalism should be tightly interlinked with the well-positioned colleges with their media courses and media companies.
Both Media Labs in Munich and Ansbach should support pre-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs intensively and strengthen the start-up scene in the field of media.
H) Set of measures to support trade
I) Digitisation in health and care
J) Digital infrastructure
K) Digitisation in agriculture
The Bavarian agriculture – digital special programme should support the small farming agriculture with digitisation. The central component of the programme which was completed almost exclusively online is the “1000 field robots programme”. This promotes modern technologies such as autonomous field robots which reduce the effort required for pest control. With the “Digitalbonus Landwirtschaft”, the initial stock is subsidised with specialist software to improve operational management.
L) Bayern Digital master plan
The master plan BAYERN DIGITAL II, agreed upon in 2017, is also a powerful service to lead Bavaria to the top nationally and internationally in all things digital. The Free State invested more than 5.5 billion euros to implement the BAYERN DIGITAL strategy, of which around 3 billion euros for the years 2018-2022 alone. Of the individual measures in the master plan, around 2/3 are already being implemented or will be started over the course of this year.
M) Digital home
To support innovative digital projects for state development, the Ministerial Council has agreed upon the key features for a new Digital home funding guideline. Here, the preparation, conception and implementation of home projects for state development should be funded, which
In particular, digitisation should be supported in the areas of demographic change, local supply, mobility and home culture.
The Digital home funding guideline should bring Bavaria forward both in the cities and in the rural areas. The situation in rural areas or in areas with a particular need for action are taken into account with an increase of the funding quota (then up to 90% funding possible). Districts, independent towns and associations are entitled to apply.
2. Bundesrat [second parliamentary chamber] initiative against improper and unlawful admonishment practices in data protection law / Minister of Justice Prof Dr Winfried Bausback: “Effectively preventing the misuse of admonishments for data protection violations across Germany / Creating legal security for citizens, societies as well as small and medium-sized businesses”
The Ministerial Council has agreed upon a draft law to amend civil regulations in the General Data Protection Regulation which Bavaria will introduce to the Bundesrat on 6 July 2018. Minister of Justice Prof Dr Winfried Bausback: “The General Data Protection Regulation should protect our citizens better. But it may not be misused as a smokescreen for dubious admonishment practices. With our Bundesrat initiative, we want to effectively prevent admonishment malpractice nationwide. The Bavarian route to data protection laws which are fair to citizens and medium businesses leads us to Berlin!”
Especially in societies as well as small and medium-sizes businesses, there is a significant fear of falling victim to dubious admonishment practices and, for example, to be flooded with complaints because of potentially erroneous privacy policy notices on their homepage. Bausback: “We are taking these fears very seriously and want to nip such practices in the bud. Our goal is: legal peace and certainty for our citizens, for our societies and for our businesses.”
In the future, the draft law should ensure:
3. Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Political Educational Work becomes a partly legally responsible public agency with a new focus / Minister of Culture Bernd Sibler: “We are declaring war on political extremism on the internet!”
The Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Political Educational Work is positioning itself anew and is becoming a partly legally responsible public agency with a new, additional focus. This was decided by the Ministerial Council today. Minister of Culture Bernd Sibler: “Current developments mean that it is necessary for us to declare war on the misuse of the internet for extremist rabble-rousing! We must engage in creating more objectivity in discussions online in a sustainable manner and make people aware of the risks of the information found on the internet, particularly in the age of Fake News. This important and forward-thinking task is one that the re-positioned Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Political Educational Work has set for itself. Digital preachers of hate may no longer have the change to spread their crude views!”
The Regulatory Authority will focus its efforts more strongly on tackling political extremism on social media and, in so doing, intensively bring in expert networks in which the Free State is already battling against political and religious extremism. The Regulatory Authority will place its focus on preventative informative and educational work.