Wahlster receives Rudolf Diesel Medal for outstanding AI innovations

Wahlster receives Rudolf Diesel Medal for outstanding AI innovations

On July 10, 2025, the Rudolf Diesel Medal 2025 was awarded at a gala dinner in Augsburg. Computer science professor Wolfgang Wahlster, who works as Chief Executive Advisor of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), received this award in the “Best Innovation Funding” category. This medal, which has been considered Europe's oldest innovation award since its introduction in 1953, honors Wahlster's life's work, which spans more than four decades between AI research and its industrial application.

In 1982, at the age of just 29, Professor Wahlster was appointed to the first German chair in artificial intelligence at Saarland University. His significant work in the areas of language understanding, translation and dialogue technologies is groundbreaking for the modern development of language assistants and chatbots. In his laudatory speech, Dr. Diana Taubert his role as a pioneer of artificial intelligence and as an architect of decisive innovation structures. Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger, CEO of the DFKI, emphasized Wahlster's influence on the successful transfer of research results into practice.

Prize winners and their achievements

Wahlster is not the only winner of this year's Rudolf Diesel Medal. Hans Beckhoff from Beckhoff Automation GmbH was also honored for the “Most Successful Innovation Achievement”. In addition, Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel from ada Learning GmbH received the medal for “Best Media Communication” and Fabian Wildfang from Neoperl Group AG for “Most Sustainable Innovation Achievement”. These personalities joined an illustrious list of award winners, which also includes renowned names such as Carl Friedrich Benz and Wernher von Braun.

Wahlster, who is considered a pioneer of artificial intelligence in Germany, not only coined the term “Industry 4.0”, but also contributed intensively to the founding of over 100 companies as a mentor. He is a member of the Royal Swedish Nobel Prize Academy, which further illustrates his outstanding role in the field of science.

Importance of artificial intelligence in Germany

The recognition of Wahlster's achievements takes place in a context that increasingly emphasizes the central role of artificial intelligence (AI) for Germany and Europe. On November 15, 2018, the federal government adopted a comprehensive AI strategy to establish Germany as a leading location for AI. The aim is to ensure competitiveness and advance innovative technologies. Investments totaling around 5 billion euros are planned by 2025, focusing on areas such as research, transfer and social dialogue.

In this context, the need for technology transfer, the creation of an appropriate legal framework as well as digital infrastructure and access to high-quality data is highlighted. Various programs and initiatives such as “Smart Data”, “AUTONOMIK” and “PAiCE” are funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWK) and have a total volume of 140 million euros.

These initiatives aim to create intelligent networks that connect the virtual and physical worlds, supporting key sectors such as education, energy, health, transport and government. The potential of these technologies is immense and could contribute over 55 billion euros to Germany's gross domestic product annually.

The Rudolf Diesel Medal is therefore not only an award for individual achievements, but also reflects the importance and progress of artificial intelligence as an essential part of the future industrial and innovation landscape in Germany.