Institute of Visual Computing (IVC)

Politics shows interest in games as a driver of innovation

Björn Franken IVC

Friday 17 May 2024

On 29 April 2024, politician Björn Franken (MdL), digital policy spokesperson for the CDU parliamentary group in North Rhine-Westphalia, visited the Institute for Visual Computing (IVC) in Sankt Augustin. As a former student and alumnus of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Franken has shown an ongoing interest in the developments at his former educational institution.
Björn Franken IVC

A key topic of the meeting was the importance of the games industry as a driver of innovation for North Rhine-Westphalia as a digital location. The games industry, in which AI also plays an important role, is experiencing a continuous growth trend and offers enormous potential for employment in the IT and creative sectors. In order to further strengthen this sector and promote technological innovation in the state, it is crucial to bundle core competences in the areas of education and research and consolidate them in the long term.

With this in mind, H-BRS launched the "Games Technology Network" in 2021 together with three other research-intensive universities.

Björn Franken IVC

During the meeting, the IVC presented its diverse activities in the field of games in teaching and research, to which the "GameDev" team, a student initiative that is very active in the field of game development, also contributes. It was emphasised that visual computing technologies and artificial intelligence play a fundamental role in many games and gaming platforms.

The meeting provided a valuable opportunity for an intensive exchange on future cooperation between politics and research institutes such as the IVC in order to further strengthen the innovative power and competitiveness of North Rhine-Westphalia as a digital centre.

We would like to thank Mr Franken and his research assistant Ms Klein-Opheys for their inspiring visit and their commitment to promoting innovation at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.