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Dear members of the AI focus group!
On Monday, May 11, 2026 , our monthly AI focus group meeting of the digitalHUB Aachen took place – and once again the response was impressive: over 60 participants on the registration list. Wow! 😊
The following is a summary of the most important content of the meeting, presented "in text form" :
(You can find the meeting's Miro board with the details here – password “FGKIAachen”)
Innovations in organization and technology
In this meeting, we directly tested some of the improvements discussed recently: additional notices with information on the schedule, organization and specialist groups, a more consistent use of microphones for better acoustics, and initial live online surveys at selected points.
The feedback was very positive – so we will continue working to keep the meetings well-structured, understandable and interactive as the number of participants grows.
New category: Tool/Tip of the Month
For the first time, we introduced our new section "Tool/Tip of the Month" . The idea: short, concrete tips with direct practical value – without a long introduction, but with as much takeaway as possible.
The event began with a compact presentation of GPT Image 2, including a brief comparison with Nano Banana 2 and FLUX 2 .
If you'd like to present an exciting tool or a practical tip at one of our next meetings, please get in touch!
News from the region / AI events
The AI Events working group presented current and upcoming AI events from the Aachen area, as usual . Details can be found on the Miro board.
Additionally, digitalHUB issued a call for applications to be speakers at various AI events and on various topics. You can find more information about this on the forum – if you are interested, please contact Anna directly .
Lecture “Are we just token generators?”
With his lecture “Are we just token generators? / Why humans and language models are on the same scale — only far apart”, Artur Löwen delivered a deliberately provocative and philosophically oriented impulse.
The presentation explored the intersection of AI, ethics, philosophy, and the concept of humanity – and thus polarized the audience in the best possible way. Particularly gratifying was the immediate interest in a kind of "counter-presentation." It is precisely these shifts in perspective that make the focus group so engaging.
Lecture: “AI agents for everyone”
In his presentation “AI agents for everyone / How to use AI agents productively in everyday business today”, Jürgen Brosterhues impressively demonstrated how AI agents can already be used practically in everyday work.
The presentation was exactly what many people were looking for: down-to-earth , hands-on, and packed with concrete takeaways. Several participants reported afterwards that they wanted to try out some of the ideas directly in their own work the very next day – a practical presentation couldn't be more effective.
News from the specialist groups
AI Events Working Group
As mentioned above, the working group once again presented current events and information from the region. The collection continues to grow – and remains an important component in making the many AI activities in the region more visible.
Compliance Working Group
The Compliance working group presented initial findings from the ongoing survey on the use of AI. At the same time, they reiterated their call for participation in the survey so that the working group can tailor its work as closely as possible to the actual questions, uncertainties, and needs of the participants.
Business Use Cases
The existing Business Use Cases working group is expected to evolve in a new direction. We will present more details at the next meeting.
AI, Culture & Transformation
There seems to be a great deal of interest in a new working group focusing on "AI, Culture & Transformation" —the first interested parties have already contacted us. More information will be provided at the next meeting.
End of the evening with pizza and drinks.
Even after the official part of the event, the discussions continued in earnest – covering agents, tools, ethics, compliance, transformation, and many other topics. Over pizza and cold drinks , it became clear once again how valuable the informal exchange afterwards is.
A heartfelt thank you goes once again to digitalHUB Aachen and EDIH for their sponsorship.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening with excellent presentations, engaging discussions, and once again, fantastic participation. Thank you all for joining us!
Next meeting
Monday, June 8, 2026 , 5 p.m., at the digitalHUB Aachen. Further details will follow in the invitation. If you have ideas for a presentation or for the new " Tool/Tip of the Month ," please get in touch!
Survey Participants
At this point, we would also like to remind you once again of the survey regarding your prior knowledge of AI, expectations, and wishes for the focus group:
https://forms.gle/9oQY1sr6uYR8StT2A
That's all for now.
We are delighted by how lively, diverse and practical the focus group has become – from tools and agents to compliance, ethics, culture and transformation.
See you again – at the latest on June 8th. in the digitalHUB !
Stefan and Alex
Dear members of the AI focus group!
On Monday, April 13, 2026 , our monthly meeting of the AI focus group of the digitalHUB Aachen took place – and this time we were able to set another record with almost 60 participants . Wow! This means the focus group continues to grow with impressive momentum. 😊
Technically, we had to resort to the projector again this time – so the large screen from the last meeting was unfortunately just a temporary exception 😉
The following is a summary of the most important content of the meeting, presented "in text form" :
(You can find the meeting's Miro board with the details here – password “FGKIAachen”)
News from the region / AI events
This time, too, there was an overview of exciting AI events from the region . Among other things, the very successful Code & Streusel event by digitalHUB was reviewed.
At the same time, we were able to provide an overview of other upcoming events, which were compiled on a website created specifically for this purpose – naturally using Vibe Coding . Unfortunately, the publication of this site is currently delayed due to some legal issues concerning the imprint.
Further information about the events presented can be found as usual in the Miro board.
Introductions
As usual, the introductions provided a good opportunity to get to know new participants and establish initial points of contact for later discussions. Especially in a group of this size, it becomes clear time and again how valuable the diversity of our group is.
"What I did with AI last month" – Recording, transcribing and analyzing meetings
Michele provided a very practical insight into different approaches to recording, transcribing and evaluating meetings – both in online and offline contexts.
What was particularly interesting was that this article deliberately addressed a topic that is truly relevant to everyone – and not just techies. Michele not only highlighted the technical possibilities but also very practical experiences, pitfalls, and limitations in the use of various tools.
A lively discussion ensued regarding compliance issues . This led to the idea of dedicating more time to this topic in a later special presentation by the Compliance working group – ideally including concrete best practices on the topic of "recording meetings".
News from the specialist groups
Compliance Working Group
The Compliance working group has created a survey for participants regarding the use of AI. We encourage as many of you as possible to participate – in the hope that the results will provide concrete approaches for how the working group can best support us on these topics in the future.
Other possible key topics
As the evening progressed, it became clear that a focus on leadership, people, and change would be of great interest to many in the group. However, to prepare and develop such a topic effectively, we need support from the group – if you can contribute or have any ideas, please get in touch.
Keynote speech: “Mastering LLMs with Open Source: Open WebUI as the key”
In his presentation, Alex provided a very clear introduction to the topic of RAG based on Open WebUI . He not only succeeded in explaining the technical basics in an understandable way, but also in highlighting the platform's special possibilities and optimization approaches.
This was a particularly strong impetus for the technically minded participants – including insights into advanced concepts such as graph-based RAG . Overall, a very successful introduction to a topic that will certainly continue to occupy us.
The presentations can be found linked in the Miro board.
End of the evening with pizza and drinks.
The subsequent networking session was once again characterized by many engaging conversations – and this time, apparently, they lasted particularly long. Over pizza and cold drinks, the various topics from the meeting were discussed at length and in depth.
A heartfelt thank you goes once again to digitalHUB Aachen and EDIH for their sponsorship.
A thoroughly successful evening with great presentations, lively discussions, and impressive participation. Thank you all for joining us!
Next meeting
Monday, May 11, 2026 , 5 p.m., at the digitalHUB Aachen. Further details will follow in the invitation.
Survey Participants
At this point, we would also like to remind you once again of the survey regarding your prior knowledge of AI, expectations, and wishes for the focus group:
https://forms.gle/9oQY1sr6uYR8StT2A
That's all for now.
We are delighted about the continued growth of the focus group – and especially about how diverse and vibrant the exchange between users, specialist departments and techies has become.
See you again – at the latest on May 11th. in the digitalHUB !
Stefan and Alex
Liebe Mitglieder der Fokusgruppe-KI!
Am Montag, dem 9. März 2026, fand unser monatliches Treffen der Fokusgruppe KI des digitalHUB Aachen statt. Dank Leinwand und leicht angepasstem Format konnten wir den Abend mit über 45 Teilnehmenden in sehr guter Atmosphäre durchführen – ein starkes Zeichen dafür, wie lebendig sich unsere Gruppe weiterentwickelt! 😊
Nachfolgend „in Textform“ die wichtigsten Inhalte des Meetings:
(Das Miro-Board des Meetings mit den Details findet ihr hier – Passwort „FGKIAachen“)
Rückblick Unternehmensbesuch bei AIXTRON
Am 2. März waren wir zu Gast bei AIXTRON bzw. auf dem Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen. Das Event war ein gelungener Auftakt unserer Reihe „FG-KI zu Gast bei …“: spannende Einblicke in konkrete KI-Anwendungen, starke Speaker und eine wirklich beeindruckende Location sorgten für einen rundum gelungenen Abend.
Wenn Ihr Euch mit Eurem Unternehmen vorstellen könnt, selbst einmal Gastgeber für ein solches Format zu sein, sprecht uns sehr gerne an!
Aktuelles aus der Region
Auch diesmal haben wir – unterstützt durch die Fachgruppe KI-Events – wieder eine ganze Reihe interessanter KI-Veranstaltungen aus der Region zusammengetragen und vorgestellt.
Weitere Informationen zu den einzelnen Terminen findet ihr wie gewohnt im Miro-Board.
Vorstellungsrunde
Auch in dieser Runde nutzten wieder drei neue Mitglieder die Gelegenheit, sich selbst, ihr Unternehmen sowie ihre bisherigen KI-Erfahrungen und Erwartungen an die Fokusgruppe kurz vorzustellen. Das sorgte direkt für gute Anknüpfungspunkte für die Gespräche im anschließenden Networking.
„Was ich letzten Monat mit KI gemacht habe“ – Agentic AI Development
Artur gab in seinem Beitrag „Agentic AI Development“ Einblicke in seinen Ansatz, Software bereits seit geraumer Zeit sehr erfolgreich mit Unterstützung von KI zu entwickeln.
Im Zentrum steht dabei weniger das klassische Programmieren selbst, sondern vielmehr die präzise Beschreibung von Anforderungen sowie die sorgfältige Prüfung der Ergebnisse. Unter diesen Voraussetzungen kann die eigentliche Umsetzung in weiten Teilen der KI überlassen werden.
Ein sehr spannender Impuls mit vielen interessanten Denkanstößen – die Präsentation findet ihr im Miro-Board.
Neues aus den Fachgruppen
Fachgruppe KI-Events
Dirk stellte ein von aiXbrain per Vibe Coding entwickeltes Tool vor, mit dem sich die hinterlegten KI-Veranstaltungen aus der Region übersichtlich anzeigen und filtern lassen. Auch das Einpflegen neuer KI-Events wird damit besonders einfach möglich sein.
Fachgruppe Compliance
Dieter stellte noch einmal Motivation und Ausrichtung der Fachgruppe vor und kündigte zudem eine Umfrage an, um die Themen künftig noch stärker an Euren Interessen und Bedarfen auszurichten.
Fachgruppe Generative KI
Beim nächsten Treffen der Fokusgruppe wird Alex zeigen, wie sich auf Basis von Open WebUI ein konkretes und leistungsfähiges RAG-System aufsetzen lässt. Im darauffolgenden Meeting wird Patrick dann eine Eigenentwicklung präsentieren, die noch deutlich weitergeht und auch mit PDFs im Umfang von 4.000 Seiten inklusive Grafiken und Tabellen umgehen kann. Die nächste Zusammenkunft der Fachgruppe findet am 23.3. um 17 Uhr statt – bei Interesse bitte direkt Kontakt zu Patrick aufnehmen.
Fachgruppe Softwareentwicklung mit KI
Neben Artur, der heute seinen Ansatz zur agentischen KI-Entwicklung vorgestellt hat, gibt es weitere Mitglieder, die bereit wären, ihre Erfahrungen im Bereich softwaregestützter Entwicklung mit KI einzubringen. Damit zeichnet sich ab, dass ein eigenes Fachgruppen-Treffen sinnvoll wäre, um dieses Thema gezielt und mit mehr Tiefe zu diskutieren.
Impulsvortrag: „LLMs meistern mit OpenSource:Open WebUI als Schlüssel“
Stefan stellte das in unseren Meetings bereits mehrfach aufgegriffene Tool Open WebUI ausführlicher vor. Im Mittelpunkt stand dabei weniger ein reiner Feature-Überblick, sondern vor allem der konkrete Nutzen für unterschiedliche Stakeholder im Unternehmen – von Geschäftsleitung über IT und Compliance bis hin zur Buchhaltung. Die vielen Nachfragen im Anschluss haben deutlich gezeigt, wie relevant und anschlussfähig dieses Thema aktuell ist.
Die Präsentation findet ihr im Miro-Board verlinkt.
Ausklang bei Pizza & Getränken
Für das anschließende Networking haben wir uns diesmal auf drei HUB-Bereiche verteilt. So konnten die Themen Open WebUI, KI-Events und Agentic AI Development noch einmal gezielt in kleineren Runden vertieft werden.
Ein sehr gelungener Abend mit tollen Gästen, intensivem Austausch und viel positiver Energie in der Gruppe.
Nächstes Treffen
Montag, 13. April 2026, 17 Uhr, im digitalHUB Aachen. Weitere Details folgen in der Einladung. Wer Ideen für einen Beitrag in der Rubrik “Was ich letzten Monat mit KI gemacht habe” hat und davon berichten möchte – meldet Euch gerne bei uns!
Umfrage Teilnehmer
An dieser Stelle auch nochmals der obligatorische Hinweis auf die Umfrage zu euren KI-Vorkenntnissen, Erwartungen und Wünschen an die Fokusgruppe:
https://forms.gle/9oQY1sr6uYR8StT2A
Das war’s auch schon wieder.
Wir freuen uns sehr über das stetige Wachstum der Fokusgruppe – und vor allem über die hohe Qualität des Austauschs, die Ihr alle mit in die Runde bringt.
Auf ein Wiedersehen – spätestens am 13. April im digitalHUB!
Stefan und Alex
Dear members of the AI focus group!
On Monday, February 9, 2026 , our monthly meeting of the AI focus group of the digitalHUB Aachen took place – and for the first time, we broke the 50-participant mark. A new record for our group – fantastic ! 😊
The following are the key points of the meeting "in text form":
(You can find the meeting's Miro board with the details here – password “FGKIAachen”)
Organizational matters – change in deputy
Due to time constraints, Marcel unfortunately had to resign from his position as deputy. Many thanks again for your dedication!
Anna took over the election management – and we are very pleased that Alex was unanimously elected as the new deputy .
Congratulations , Alex – we look forward to further cooperation!
Company visit to AIXTRON on March 2nd
Tim has once again motivated us for our upcoming visit to AIXTRON on March 2nd – and the anticipation is palpable.
It will certainly be exciting to see how an international high-tech company actually uses AI and what practical insights we will gain there.
For those who haven't registered yet: Now is the perfect time 😉
News from the region
As usual, we have presented numerous exciting AI events from the region.
For the first time, the collection and structuring was carried out with the support of the AI Events working group – many thanks for that!
Details about the events can be found as always on the Miro board.
Introductions
Once again, the introductory round was a highlight – particularly pleasing: we were able to welcome two professors from the region , from TH Cologne and FH Aachen.
The diversity of our group continues to grow – both professionally and in terms of future prospects.
“What I did with AI last month” – The “ghost” in the machine
In his presentation “ The Ghost in the Machine ”, Alex introduced the OpenClaw project.
He addressed both the impressive opportunities and the risks , and gave an outlook on the topic of Moltbook .
An exciting article with lots of food for thought – you can find the presentation on the Miro board.
News from the specialist groups
AI Events Working Group
Bernd encouraged everyone to actively share exciting events from the region – either by email to fachgruppe-events@fokusgruppe-ki-aachen.de
or directly as a post in our LinkedIn group .
Compliance Working Group
Dieter suggested a broader exchange on compliance topics – deliberately broader than “just” GDPR or AI regulation, extending to security issues.
Questions and topic suggestions can be sent to fachgruppe-compliance@fokusgruppe-ki-aachen.de
A survey may follow to better align the topics with your interests.
Generative AI Working Group
Patrick reported on current experiments showing how even very large PDFs (e.g., >3,000 pages) can be efficiently and cost-effectively processed using RAG .
Anyone who would like to delve deeper into this topic should contact Patrick directly.
Software Development with AI Specialist Group
Nico reported on the first meeting and an intensive exchange of experiences on this very dynamic topic.
Here too, the following applies: Anyone who would like to participate or is looking for an exchange – please feel free to contact Nico directly.
Keynote speech: “Automating with n8n”
After a brief introduction to the topic, André gave us a structured overview of the different licensing models of n8n – and then demonstrated live how workflows can be automated impressively easily with this low-code/no-code platform .
A very practical presentation with many questions and a lively discussion afterwards.
The presentation will be provided later and then also linked in the Miro board.
End of the evening with pizza and drinks.
For networking, we spread ourselves across three HUB areas this time – this allowed us to delve deeper into the topics of n8n , OpenClaw and software development with AI and discuss them in a smaller group.
A thoroughly successful evening with great guests, intense conversations and a palpable dynamic within the group.
Next meeting
Monday, March 9, 2026 , 5 p.m., at the digitalHUB Aachen. Further details will follow in the invitation. If anyone has ideas for a keynote speech or would like to share something in the "What I did with AI last month" section, please get in touch!
Survey Participants
At this point, we would also like to remind you once again about the survey regarding your prior knowledge of AI, expectations, and wishes for the focus group:
https://forms.gle/9oQY1sr6uYR8StT2A
That's all for now.
We are delighted by the continuous growth of the focus group – and especially by the quality of the exchange that you all bring.
See you again – at the latest on March 2nd at AIXTRON or at the next regular meeting in the digitalHUB !
Stefan and Alex
Dear members of the AI focus group!
On Monday, December 8, 2025 , our monthly meeting of the AI focus group of the digitalHUB Aachen took place – and with almost 50 participants, we set a new attendance record at the end of the year 😊
The following are the key points of the meeting "in text form":
- Company visit to AIXTRON – next step. In recent meetings, the desire to visit member companies directly on-site and experience firsthand how AI is already being used became increasingly clear. This idea is now taking shape: Tim G. from AIXTRON has invited us to take a look behind the scenes at their Heerlen location and learn about the company's specific AI applications. Around 25 participants spontaneously expressed interest in attending such a meeting – as usual, on a Monday at 5:00 p.m. Together with Tim, we are now agreeing on a specific date and will then begin the detailed planning. We already announced this format in the last newsletter – so now it's time to put it into practice. We will inform you as soon as the date and details are finalized. And as always: If you would like to host a visit yourself, please feel free to get in touch.
- “What I did with AI last month” – Anonymization proxy for LLMs. In this section, I presented an exciting result from one of our project and bachelor's theses : Adil M. developed an anonymization proxy that enables the use of commercial LLMs in compliance with data protection regulations. The basic idea: Before a request is sent to models like ChatGPT, it passes through a proxy that automatically anonymizes all personal data . Based on Microsoft Presidio – a completely locally operated, open-source solution without cloud dependency – sensitive information is detected, replaced, and mapped for later reverse translation . The LLM's response is then deanonymized , so there is no disruption in the user experience. In addition to the classic proxy, this function has now also been integrated into Open WebUI : There, it can be easily activated as an option for all installed models via a pipeline . The presentation was met with great interest and sparked many lively discussions during the subsequent networking session. If you are interested in this approach or its potential use, please feel free to contact me.
- Keynote presentation: “Agentic AI Orchestration using a Camunda Process” A true highlight of the meeting came from Christian L. In an impressive live demo , he demonstrated how even complex processes can be modeled as workflows with surprising ease using Camunda – and how AI-supported decisions can be integrated at crucial points. Using a fictitious license order request as an example , he guided the audience step-by-step through the process and demonstrated how the AI automatically makes appropriate decisions based on defined options , thus efficiently controlling and optimizing the entire workflow. Many thanks to Christian for this exciting demo!
- Specialist group updates : There are also positive developments in our specialist groups:
Compliance Working Group Sabine T. aims to introduce new initiatives and significantly expand the group's activities next year . Plans include an email distribution list through which members can submit their questions about GDPR, AIVO, and related topics . The submitted questions will gradually form the basis for FAQs, best practices , and other helpful materials. This will establish the working group as an easily accessible resource for practical data protection questions within the AI working group.
New specialist group: "Software development with AI" Following the lively discussion at the last meeting, a new specialist group has now been founded: Software development with AI.
Those present include Jan B., Alex Z., Mari K. and Nico R.; Artur L. has also signaled his interest.
The group is dedicated to a highly topical and at the same time controversial subject: To what extent can software development already be meaningfully automated with AI today – and under what conditions can this approach function almost autonomously in the near future?
This topic will surely continue to be relevant for a long time, and the specialist group offers a structured space for exchange, experience and experimentation.
Anyone who would like to get involved or simply learn more is welcome to contact us.
Landing Page/PR Working Group – Successfully Completed The Landing Page/PR working group has now disbanded – and for a very good reason: its task has been accomplished . The AI working group's landing page has been successfully created, launched, and is now being maintained automatically. The group has thus fully achieved its purpose, and we sincerely thank Patrick H. and Florian C. for their dedication.
- Pizza Sponsor digitalHUB / EDIH A huge thank you goes to digitalHUB Aachen and EDIH , who have once again sponsored the pizza – especially Anna, Michael, and Iris ! 🍕
- Next meeting : Monday, January 12, 2026 , 5 p.m., at the digitalHUB Aachen. Further details will follow in the invitation. If anyone has ideas for a keynote speech or would like to share something in the "What I did with AI last month" section, please get in touch!
At this point, we would also like to remind you once again about the survey regarding your prior knowledge of AI, expectations, and wishes for the focus group:
https://forms.gle/9oQY1sr6uYR8StT2A
That's all for now.
As the year draws to a close , we would like to sincerely thank you for your active and reliable participation in the focus group meetings . Your commitment, your questions, and your contributions make the AI Focus Group what it is – and significantly contribute to advancing the Aachen region in the field of AI . This motivates us enormously! We wish you a wonderful Christmas season , relaxing days with your loved ones, and a happy New Year.
We look forward to seeing you again in January at the digitalHUB !
Stefan and Marcel
Speaker for the AI focus group
Pooling expert knowledge. Deepening perspectives.
Specialist groups within the AI focus group
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