The Hasso-Plattner-Institute (HPI) in Potsdam is proud to announce the appointment of Professor Dr. Lothar H. Wieler as the speaker of the new Digital Health Cluster starting April 1, 2023.

Professor Wieler is a globally recognized scientist in the fields of microbiology and infectious medicine and an expert in public health. As the president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), he has consistently advocated for data-driven science and implemented the digital transformation of the institute.

The Hasso-Plattner-Institute is internationally renowned for its excellent digital research, particularly in areas where modern computing is used to enhance understanding of complex relationships in large data sets. One such area is digital health, which was established with the creation of the Digital Health Center (DHC) in 2017 to bring together research and teaching and enable interdisciplinary research between medical and IT professionals. The pandemic has made the fundamental importance of this work even more obvious.

In view of this, the Hasso Plattner Foundation has decided to further strengthen and expand this area. The Hasso-Plattner-Institute is now pleased to have won Professor Dr. Lothar H. Wieler, one of the most recognized scientists in the field of public health, as a speaker for the new cluster.

"We are very pleased to have Professor Lothar Wieler, a renowned expert in the field of public health, joining the HPI," said Professor Dr. Tobias Friedrich, one of the managing directors and Dean of the HPI. "He will complement our existing expertise in the field of digital technologies with his scientific expertise and experience in public health. As speaker of the Digital Health Cluster, he will focus and further drive our activities."

Professor Dr. Lothar H. Wieler said, "After eight years as a scientist at the head of the RKI, I am looking forward to the opportunity to bring my experience from the public health sector and the management of a pandemic to the HPI, one of the leading research institutes in the digital world. This pandemic will not be the last, but we can better prepare for the next by drawing the right conclusions and investing in research now. I hope to be able to contribute to advancing digitalization in public health both nationally and internationally. The HPI offers this opportunity."

The digital health area of the Hasso-Plattner-Institute (HPI) brings together scientists from the fields of health and life sciences, data sciences, and digital engineering with the common goal of advancing digital health research. The new Digital Health Cluster, starting April 1, 2023, will further concentrate and drive the institute's activities in this field.

The Hasso-Plattner-Institute (HPI) in Potsdam is Germany's university center of excellence for digital engineering (https://hpi.de). With the bachelor's degree program "IT-Systems Engineering", the shared digital engineering faculty of HPI and the University of Potsdam offers a unique and particularly practice-oriented engineering computer science program that is unique in Germany and is currently attended by around 800 students. In five master's degree programs, "IT Systems Engineering", "Digital Health", "Data Engineering", "Cybersecurity" and "Software Systems Engineering", students can build on this to set their own research priorities. In the CHE university rankings, HPI always occupies top positions. The HPI School of Design Thinking, Europe's first innovation school for students following the example of the Stanford d.school, offers 300 places per year for additional studies. HPI currently has 22 professors and over 50 other visiting professors, lecturers and instructors. It conducts excellent university research - in its IT disciplines, but also in the HPI Research School for doctoral students with its research outposts in Cape Town, Irvine, Haifa and Nanjing. HPI teaching and research focuses on the fundamentals and applications of large, highly complex and networked IT systems. In addition, there is the development and research of user-oriented innovations for all areas of life.

The Hasso Plattner Foundation is an independent, non-profit institution in the legal form of a foundation under civil law. Its goal is to contribute to the advancement of education, culture and environmental protection, and to enable future generations to realize their full potential. The focus areas are:

Science & Education  

With future-oriented education and research initiatives young talent is fostered and trained to become leaders. A key focus is on developing innovation, skills and entrepreneurship. 

Art & Culture  

In addition to supporting its own museums, the Museum Barberini and the DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam, the Hasso Plattner Foundation is committed to provenance research and focuses on the preservation of cultural heritage. The preservation of historical building fabric is of great importance for the protection of valuable monuments. 

Conservation of nature & social work 

The focus is on the protection of the unique African flora and fauna by promoting a respectful symbiosis between humans, animals and nature as well as the sustainable improvement of the living conditions of African communities.

https://plattnerfoundation.org