On 18 September 2026, the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) – the network of excellence comprising the Free University of Berlin (FU), HU, TU and Charité Berlin – together with the Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB) and the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) – signed a cooperation agreement for a joint data science and AI centre in Berlin-Dahlem and Adlershof. In doing so, they are laying the foundations for a high-performance, cross-institutional infrastructure for data research and artificial intelligence in Berlin as a centre of scientific excellence. The State of Berlin is providing the BUA with additional funding for this purpose. The aim is to utilise resources more efficiently, avoid parallel structures and develop new capacities in line with demand.
New opportunities for data-intensive methods and artificial intelligence
“For researchers across the entire BUA, and therefore also at Humboldt-Universität, this collaboration primarily means better access to high-performance computing and storage infrastructure. Particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and data-intensive research, we can no longer plan the necessary capacities from the perspective of individual institutions,” says Niels Helle-Meyer, Vice President for Finance, Human Resources and Operations at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU). “By jointly developing and utilising resources, we make more efficient use of public funds whilst at the same time creating better conditions for cutting-edge research.”
Professor Dr Ulf Leser from the Department of Computer Science, who is overseeing the project’s content on behalf of HU, adds: “More and more research questions can only be addressed with high-performance data and computing infrastructures. For Humboldt-Universität, the shared infrastructure opens up new opportunities to apply and further develop data-intensive methods and artificial intelligence across disciplinary boundaries. In doing so, we are creating the essential conditions to ensure that our researchers can continue to work in a way that remains internationally competitive in the future.”
Back in May 2025, the partners had already agreed to coordinate their investments in modern data and AI infrastructures. The agreement now signed sets out the joint governance, infrastructure planning, and the use and provision of computing and storage capacities.