It is my pleasure to introduce this volume outlining new directions in computer science investigated by the junior researchers of the faculty of informatics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Each paper presents a young researcher’s scientific contributions and the research vision for a whole junior research group.
All junior groups play a very important role at our faculty, and the junior research group leader positions are all roughly equivalent to assistant professors. As the term “junior researcher” is not yet standardized in Germany, our groups are supported through different instruments, such as junior professorships, shared research groups, young investigator groups, junior research groups, and the Emmy-Noether program. Consequently, the funding sources vary as well: we would like to thank the excellence initiative at KIT, the German Science Foundation (DFG), the Tschira-Stiftung, as well as several companies, namely Harmann-Becker, Init and PTV, for their generous support of young scientists.
The faculty of computer science is doing a lot to attract young talents. It offers all junior researchers a high degree of autonomy and support to lead their groups independently, including the same authorization as the full tenured professors to award doctoral degrees. They also have direct support from the faculty board, the dean, and a dedicated mentor for consultation.
I think that all statements contained in this volume present high-quality, innovative research.We are very proud that these young outstanding researchers are part of KIT!