The research initiative SmartProSys aims to replace fossil raw materials in chemical production with renewable carbon sources, contributing to a society with net zero CO2 emissions. It adopts a system-oriented strategy, researching resource-efficient decomposition and synthesis processes on a process level, intelligent catalytic conversion at the molecular level, and investigating economic and societal implications at a higher system level. The complexity of the system requires the development of powerful computational and machine learning methods for design, simulation, optimization, and control.

With the aim of improving and protecting mental health, scientists in an interdisciplinary team are researching the decoding of neurocognitive networks and their vulnerability. Focused on the mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction following non-neurological diseases, treatments and prevention will be developed. The research cluster helps to change the way cognition is treated in medicine and the awareness of this topic in the general population.

The target of Productive Teaming is to design production processes in such a way that machines adapt easily and flexibly to humans. Productive Teaming will allow humans and machines to continuously adjust to each other while still maintaining high production efficiency. This will significantly reduce scrap and waste and sustainably improve job quality. Productive Teaming is a cross-university research cluster in the CHIM research network of the Fraunhofer Institutes IFF, IDMT and IWU. Within the University of Magdeburg, Productive Teaming goes back to the university's strategic "Roundtable AI" and involves several faculties.