As a future center for KI NRW (ZuZ KI NRW), we are pleased about an important milestone: The thousandth consultation case!
We have been advising, qualifying and informing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in North Rhine-Westphalia since 2021 to our central concern: The Digitalization and the Use of artificial intelligence (AI) practical, participatory and people-centered to design. So far we have reached 800 companies from North Rhine-Westphalia – 70% of which were SMEs.
Almost 90% of our 1,000 consulting cases were Orientation consultationswhere we e.g. B. Questions about specific digitalization and AI problems faced by companies treated. Also consultations funding programs fall into this category. For the remaining 10%, we were able to work more intensively with the companies. Questions about sales forecasts, digital business models or AI in production planning are examples of these consultations, which can take up to ten days to complete.
The constantly increasing demand for our offerings shows that practical and needs-oriented support in digitalization processes and the use of AI are well received.
Same with CPI Vertex Antennentechnikwhich became our thousandth consultation case!
Having become aware of our offerings through participation in an external event, CPI Vertex held a two-hour consultation with colleagues from TBS NRW and the company’s AI project group. An AI introduction workshop and the development of AI guidelines for the company are now planned.
We are really looking forward to further collaboration!
In the past, we have not yet structurally integrated AI into our company’s work processes or products. With the KI NRW Future Center, we approach entry in a targeted and risk-conscious manner in order to make thoughtful use of opportunities and identify risks at an early stage. These can then be addressed right from the start when defining AI-supported workflows. In the opening workshop, the prioritized areas of application were discussed together, the technical implementation of which is now being evaluated. The support from the Future Center KI NRW is particularly helpful, as the AI area is currently developing rapidly, both technically and organizationally. Topics such as AI guidelines and the upcoming AI regulation are also taken into account.
We look forward to taking further steps with the support of the Future Center and sustainably integrating AI into our work processes.
Across all consulting cases, demand for topics relating to AI is highest at 55%. Strategically, this is primarily about innovation approaches (37.54%) or increasing efficiency (21.26%). Goals that are also pursued relate to offering optimization or expansion, quality aspects or cost savings or resource minimization.
These topic areas reflect the core and content orientation of our work.
Together for digital change in medium-sized businesses
Our goal is to… Opportunities and potential of digitalization and artificial intelligence in the business environment to use and so companies in their competitiveness to strengthen. We rely on an approach that involves everyone involved: Management, employees, interest groups and works councils.
Together with those involved, we develop solutions for technical applications and the challenge of anchoring digital transformation in the organization and involving employees in the design and application of new technologies. Together we look at people in digital transformation from different perspectives.
Our project is funded by this Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and from Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as well as by the European Union via the European Social Fund ESF Plus.
This funding enables us to focus on our work with companies. Because we are convinced that digitalization Work better, more efficiently and more humanely can do. That’s why we offer them with our offer different perspectives in the company together – with the different perspectives and the social partnership approach of our consortium.
A strong consortium – our expertise for NRW
As a future center for AI NRW, our consortium brings together the… Expertise in five individual disciplines. Together we form one networkfrom whose technological and working world expertise the medium-sized economy benefits. Become there educational, social partnership as well as scientific and economic aspects of digital transformation covered. This interdisciplinary setup enables us to understand not only people in their working world, but also the technical environment and its requirements. In this way, we find tailor-made solutions for very different questions.
The consortium partners succeed in bringing the different competencies into the project in such a way that the whole is more than the sum of the individual parts.
Educational organization of the North Rhine-Westphalian economy e. v.
This cooperation ensures that the digital change in North Rhine-Westphalia not only promotes the competitiveness of companies, but also comprehensively takes the interests of employees into account and thus “makes work better” – in the sense of a social partnership strategy.
Collaboration with the partners in the consortium is important in order to offer small and medium-sized companies the optimal combination of technology and qualification and thus to be able to best support changes in the companies.
Artificial intelligence has become an integral part of our working world and companies are aware of this development. There is great interest in this topic and this was also evident in the turnout at our last major event.
Another highlight: Our major event “SME goes AI”
Our special attention this year Major event “SME goes AI” on June 12, 2025 in the Rheinterrasse Düsseldorf. Around 300 participants took the opportunity to find out about successful events on site Practical examplesdifferent Fields of application of AI and new ones Cooperation opportunities to inform. With inspiring keynotes, educational discussions, impulses from practice, an accompanying exhibition with our network partners and enough space for personal discussions in the most beautiful Rhine backdrop, the event received a very positive response and sent a strong signal for the interest of medium-sized businesses in our topics and offerings.
To get an insight into the topics and the process of our event, you can find our here Event video with votes from participants:
If you missed our event, you can also find a small one here Galerie with impressions of this event:
We are proud of our successes and our good cooperation. At the same time, highly motivated to accompany the next 1,000 companies on their path to digital transformation. We would like to thank all companions, companies and partners who made these milestones possible!
Talk to us or find out about our consulting and further training offers.
We look forward to exchanging ideas with you!
You can find this article as a PDF download here:
Back