The IT developer
Georg Wrobel supports digital projects in small and medium-sized companies
“Rooted in Adlershof” is how Gregor Wrobel describes the institute where he has spent almost his entire career—and the same could be said of him. Wrobel was in his mid-twenties and had just completed his mathematics degree at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences when he joined the GFal – Society for the Advancement of Applied Computer Science in 1996. Back then, he recalls, there was only one place to buy a meal in Adlershof. In some parts, the landscape resembled that of the Wild West, including tumbleweeds rolling across the dry streets.
Bar a brief hiatus, Wrobel stayed. “I came back after just under a year because GFaI is something special.” One of these special features is that it continues the tradition of a former East German research institution. It emerged in 1990 from the then-dissolved Central Institute for Cybernetics and Information Processes (ZKI). It has been headquartered in a new five-story building on Volmerstraße since 2010, where about 150 people are working on facilitating digital innovation.
“We are the research and development department for small and medium-sized companies,” says Wrobel. Many product ideas “with high technological risk” land on his desk—risks that their creators are unwilling or unable to take. “It might work, but it might also not work. That’s applied research for you!” Taking on this development work, GFaI is funded primarily by tapping into public sources. Up to 70% of its budget comes from grants provided by the economic ministry and that for education and research.
One of GFaI's innovations is a piece of software that evaluates the profitability of complex energy supply systems: When is it feasible to invest into heat pumps, storage solutions, or a renewable energy transition? Another focus is on quality control in manufacturing. Wrobel highlights an AI-driven system for real-time monitoring of components in manufacturing processes, which identifies the unusable ones. Another AI-based technology uses acoustic testing to detect production flaws that aren’t visible to the naked eye. The principle is simple enough: When struck with a small hammer, a faulty part sounds different from an intact one. The GFaI also invented the so-called acoustic camera, which can pinpoint the source of any noise. “If an engine clatters, I can see exactly where the noise is coming from.”
Born and raised in East Berlin’s districts of Lichtenberg and Friedrichshain, the now-54-year-old describes himself as “a Berliner and a child of the GDR.” At 16, he began training as an electrical technician, as his Catholic background meant he had little chance of securing a place at university under the socialist regime. He started at GFaI as a research associate, rising through the ranks to become a department head, then deputy managing director, and, in 2023, managing director. How does he view his role so far? “Funding an institute like this is a challenge.” He attributes this to decreasing political willingness to invest in innovation and “immense bureaucratic hurdles”.
For Wrobel, the “transfer principle” is the core of his work. Translating research into the industrial practice. Conveying digital expertise to policymakers by publishing policy papers. Passing knowledge on to the next generation. A fifth of GFaI’s workforce consists of university students completing internships or final projects. “Training young people in STEM professions is part of our mission,” says Wrobel.
Dr. Winfried Dolderer for Adlershof Journal