The FIAS and the Chinese Xidian University have confirmed the idea to establish a 'Joint Research Center' in AI research during a visit of the FIAS delegation under the leadership of the chairman of the FIAS board of directors, Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff.

On April 2, 2019, a delegation of the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), represented by Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff as Chairman of the FIAS Board and Prof. Dr. Horst Stöcker, met with President Zongkai Yang and Vice President Jiandong Li of Xidian University in Xi'An, China. After a warm welcome, President Zongkai Yang gave an introduction to Xidian University.

Since a proposal to establish the 'Xidian-FIAS Joint Research Center' (XF-JRC), which was initiated between the FIAS 'Deepthinkers'-AI group and President Zongkai Yang, during a previous visit to FIAS in November 2018, both parties have been working intensively over the past few months to exchange ideas and opinions about the realization of the XF-JRC.

The proposal followed a successful summer school on "Horizons of Industry 4.0 in Germany and Artificial Intelligence", organized by FIAS for Xidian University students in 2018, at which the students attended lectures by FIAS Fellows Prof. Dr. Jochen Triesch, Dr. Kai Zhou and Dr. Jan Steinheimer.

Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff, as representative of the FIAS board of directors, expressed his strong support for the proposed Joint lab together with Xidian.

The Joint Lab will be part of the FIAS strategy to strengthen research on artificial intelligence and its application in interdisciplinary scientific research and development. Within its function it will strongly promote international research cooperation.

During the spring visit to the Xidian University both groups discussed principle issues about the XF-JRC and laid a solid foundation for its formal establishment.

Xidian University is a public research university in Xi'An, China. Founded in 1931, the University is considered one of the top universities of research and education of engeneering in China. Xidian University is dedicated primarily to electronics and information education and research, with an integration of a wiede range of academic subjects covering engineering, science, management, economy, arts and social sceiences. Xidian University has been able to build up a formidable reputation in Artificial Intelligence, and has successfully established a Scholl of Artificial Intelligence in 2014.