The start of a cooperation that is the first of its kind in Germany was an occasion to celebrate. Together with State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, Dirk Wiese; Minister President of Brandenburg, Dr. Dietmer Woidke; Brandenburg State Minister of Science, Martina Münch; and HPI benefactor Prof. Hasso Plattner, the newly founded Faculty of Digital Engineering was opened by Prof. Christoph Meinel and the President of the University of Potsdam, Oliver Günther.

The Faculty, founded jointly by the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) and the University of Potsdam, is the first privately financed public faculty of a public university in Germany. It will set standards beyond the state of Brandenburg: "I promise that also in this constellation we will do our best to offer teaching and research at the highest possible level," said HPI benefactor and science patron Hasso Plattner. "I am convinced that the Faculty of Digital Engineering will become a lighthouse on the Brandenburg science landscape and beyond," said Minister President of Brandenburg, Dr. Dietmar Woidke in his address.

The Faculty as a university excellence center for "digital engineering"

Funded by the Hasso Plattner Foundation, the joint faculty will be expanded as a university excellence center in the field of digital engineering. "Thanks to the exemplary commitment of Hasso Plattner, the Faculty will have 20 professorships," said Professor Oliver Günther, President of the University of Potsdam. Minister President Woidke also joined in expressing his thanks to Plattner for his generous support.

New Master's degree courses planned in diverse areas

In the course of the expansion, four new Master’s programs will be established, joining the current Master’s program in "IT Systems Engineering." The degree programs planned are Digital Health, Smart Energy, Cyber-Security, and Data Engineering. This new construct deepens the long public-private collaborative work between HPI and the University of Potsdam and helps to extend the reputation of Potsdam as a city of science. "With the expansion and founding of the Faculty we create the necessary conditions to attract top researchers to the region. This strengthens the scientific community in addressing the important issues that shape the future," said Meinel.