With around €1.6 million in EU and state funding, the joint project "KI für KMU NiederRhein" aims to give small and medium-sized enterprises in the NiederRhein region practical access to Artificial Intelligence.

Regional President Thomas Schürmann officially handed over the funding approval to the consortium partners on 27 April 2026. The project is part of the "Regio.NRW – Transformation" funding call and is financed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The UDE contributes its academic expertise through Prof. Dr. Frederik Ahlemann, Prof. Dr. Marc Eulerich and Prof. Dr. Hannes Rothe. Further partners in the consortium are Hochschule Rhein-Waal, Wirtschaftsförderung Kreis Kleve, EntwicklungsAgentur Wirtschaft Kreis Wesel and Duisburg Business & Innovation as the lead partner.

SMEs in the region will be supported through consultations, training programmes and pilot projects to help them adopt AI solutions and strengthen their long-term competitiveness.

Photo: Regional President Thomas Schürmann with Arslan Haider, Prof. Dr. Frederik Ahlemann, Prof. Dr. Marc Eulerich and Prof. Dr. Hannes Rothe (left to right) from the University of Duisburg-Essen. Source: Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf – Mediathek.