AI is rapidly gaining importance in the daily work of industrial SMEs. Many companies respond by creating general AI policies, but these are often too far removed from real work situations.

At the same time, many employees already use AI privately. However, because they are unsure if and how they can use it at work, this potential often goes unused or happens “under the radar.”

Companies are facing two key challenges:

• They need to define clear rules for using AI and communicate them effectively.
• They also need to make existing skills visible, motivate employees to get involved, and bring everything into a safe and structured framework.

Background

This challenge focuses on German mid-sized companies in the construction machinery sector, with up to 500 employees and a strong industrial background (e.g. manufacturers of earth-moving equipment).

These companies have already decided to invest in a secure, European AI infrastructure to ensure data sovereignty.

In daily business functions such as sales, purchasing, and service, specialized processes meet a strong culture of protecting company secrets.

While younger employees and apprentices often have strong experience with AI in their private lives, this potential is rarely used at work. The reason: existing IT rules are often too restrictive and abstract, instead of offering clear and practical guidance.

Note
This contest is part of the InnoVET-PLUS research project InnoHubAzubi and is carried out in cooperation with apprentices from German vocational schools.

Please submit your contribution in both German and English. If you do not speak German, you may use machine translation for the German version.