Interview with the Institute Director

Innovative mobility, smart infrastructure, promising prospects: With solutions for automotive applications, intelligent transport systems, and civil security, researchers at Fraunhofer IVI achieve high effectiveness across industries and sectors. Since June 1, 2024, the new institute director, Professor Sanaz Mostaghim, has been adding further forward-looking expertise to the institute‘s portfolio. The renowned expert in artificial intelligence has been a university professor at the Chair of Computational Intelligence at the Faculty of Computer Science at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (OVGU) since 2014. Her research focuses in particular on multi-criteria optimization, decision-making and evolutionary algorithms, as well as collective intelligence and swarm robotics.

Prof. Mostaghim, let us look back on your first six months as the new institute director. What are your first impressions of Fraunhofer IVI and of Dresden as a location?

My first day at Fraunhofer IVI was a highlight, everyone welcomed me warmly, and I felt at home from the very first moment. I am truly excited about my scientific work at the institute and strongly believe that our research plays an important and pioneering role in our society. The topics addressed by Fraunhofer IVI, which revolve around the development of key technologies for transportation and infrastructure systems, are at the core of innovative scientific research and large-scale industrial projects that are vital for a better future for everyone. We are committed to developing new technologies for a better life for ourselves and future generations, and I am very excited to see that our projects will have a large impact on the innovations of the next few decades.

As chairholder of the »Chair of Computational Intelligence« at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, your main activities so far used to be in university-based fundamental research. What was the special appeal for you in taking over the management of a Fraunhofer institute with a strong focus on applied research?

The philosophy of Joseph von Fraunhofer – “researcher, inventor and entrepreneur” is actually the guiding principle of my own research, which I have developed over the last two decades. I strongly believe that good theoretical work can only be successful if we can apply it in practice. At the University of Magdeburg, I work on theoretical foundations, simulations, and hardware implementations in my SwarmLab, which I established back in 2014. At Fraunhofer IVI, I now have a larger platform for larger industrial applications. This was a vision that can now become reality.

You have succeeded Prof. Matthias Klingner, whose work shaped the institute for over 20 years. What topics will you focus on in your research and what new priorities would you like to set at the institute?

As transportation and mobility are at the heart of new revolutionary topics in the era of digitalization and climate change, I see great potential for visionary topics towards which I intend to guide our research. Fraunhofer IVI already has an excellent status in terms of management and project acquisition. The essential elements such as organizational structure, research groups, funding profile, personnel structures and infrastructure are ideally positioned. While maintaining and continuing the successful status quo, we will set new research priorities, increase our scientific research impact, and establish new collaborations. I also strive for a transparent management structure to enrich the institute’s culture and create a diverse, inclusive and international working life for everyone.

What are the goals you have set for Fraunhofer IVI in 2025?

I have a long list of goals for this year. We already started the strategy process in January, which will accompany us throughout the year. We have also established a new research group on swarm technologies to expand our research portfolio. This is generously funded by the Fraunhofer ATTRACT program. Also, we will intensify our cooperation with TUD and OVGU. We will fill a new department head position, which will be combined with a professorship at TUD. In addition, I aim to increase our visibility by identifying new platforms for exchange with our national and international partners. I am very pleased that we have taken the first step in the collaboration between Fraunhofer IVI and the University of Magdeburg, and that the first PhD student enrolled at the University of Magdeburg. We will also look for opportunities to increase diversity and enable better participation. This year’s strategy process will enable us to identify further potential, which we will implement step by step.

So far, what is your impression of the institute spirit and the personal interactions between colleagues?

Open, competent, professional.

In addition to your position at the institute and your professorship at OVGU, you are a member of a variety of public bodies, including the Digitalization Council of Saxony-Anhalt. How could synergies with Fraunhofer IVI arise in the future?

In view of the significant impact of Fraunhofer IVI’s work on regional, federal and state levels, I see it as my task to actively highlight the institute’s contributions in all these structures. We have already begun collaborating with other organizations. For example, we intend to intensify our collaboration with the state of Saxony-Anhalt. In March 2025, the State Secretary visited us here at the institute in Dresden as part of this initiative. In our first meeting, we identified five projects for future collaboration. So it seems that things are progressing well. The close networking of my own long-standing committee work with the platforms for technical collaboration established at the institute is a goal that is particularly close to my heart.