Sandra Wachter: New Humboldt Professor for AI Regulation in Potsdam!

Sandra Wachter: New Humboldt Professor for AI Regulation in Potsdam!

On May 5, 2025, the renowned Alexander von Humboldt Professorship was awarded to the lawyer and AI expert Prof. Sandra Wachter. The ceremony took place in the presence of Federal Minister of Education and Research Cem Özdemir and the President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Robert Schlögl. With this award, Wachter becomes one of six new Humboldt professors who come to Germany from abroad.

The Alexander von Humboldt Professorship is considered Germany's most valuable international research award. This year, a total of six new professors from German universities were nominated, who will now work at universities in Duisburg-Essen, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig and Potsdam. The prize is endowed with five million euros for experimentally working scientists and three and a half million euros for theoretically oriented scientists.

Science and Technology at the University of Potsdam

Prof. Sandra Wachter is moving from the University of Oxford to the University of Potsdam, where she will take up the position of Professor of Technology and Regulation in the Digital Engineering Faculty. This faculty is supported by both the Hasso Plattner Institute and the University of Potsdam. The professorship is endowed with 3.5 million euros and receives support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Wachter works at the interface between law, computer science and social science. She has made a significant contribution to the development of the research field of explainable artificial intelligence. Her research goals are how AI can be made fairer, more transparent and appropriately regulated. She will play a central role in shaping the ethical and legal AI expertise in Germany.

The relevance of academic freedom

During the award ceremony, Robert Schlögl pointed out the current situation at universities and the threat to academic freedom posed by the Trump administration in the USA. He emphasized the need to support academic freedom. Schlögl offered financial support for researchers from the USA who have to suffer from restrictions in their home country. This freedom is recognized as a constitutional priority in Germany and is seen as a fundamental pillar of democracy.

Cem Özdemir also emphasized the importance of academic freedom in his speech. He emphasized that the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship brings outstanding researchers from all over the world to German universities. This is done not only to promote individual excellence, but also to stimulate international exchange in the scientific field. The focus is on supporting people, not projects, which is done without any expectations of short-term benefits. These values ​​are essential for diversity in science and contribute to social and economic progress.

The award for Sandra Wachter underlines Germany's ongoing efforts to create innovation-friendly conditions while promoting scientific exchange on a global level.