We are strategically expanding our project portfolio. Two areas are becoming particularly important: securing a skilled workforce and cybersecurity. Both exemplify an approach that sets us apart as the AI Alliance Baden-Württemberg—focusing not on technology, but on the specific needs of businesses and municipalities. Three new team members are contributing their expertise and implementing these projects.
Securing a Skilled Workforce: AI as a Support, Not a Replacement
The shortage of skilled workers is affecting companies across all industries in Baden-Württemberg, and the pressure to find solutions is growing. We are addressing this need with the project “AI Can Do It: Securing Skilled Workers in Baden-Württemberg”—a video series that demonstrates how AI can tangibly reduce the workload for employees in companies without replacing their craftsmanship. The project is being developed in cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, and Tourism, the CyberForum, and the Baden-Württemberg Skilled Workforce Alliance.
Ina Biesenbach – Project Coordinator, “AI Can Do It: Securing a Skilled Workforce in Baden-Württemberg”
Since February 2026, Ina Biesenbach has been coordinating the project at the Baden-Württemberg AI Alliance. In the public eye, AI often oscillates between two extremes: hype on one hand, and fear of job loss on the other. But what can AI actually do right now to help address the shortage of skilled workers? Ina Biesenbach is working to highlight this—using concrete, real-world examples from companies across the state that demonstrate how AI can already meaningfully support and relieve employees, thereby helping to counteract the shortage of skilled workers. For twelve years, she worked as a creative producer in an advertising film production company, distilling complex content down to its essence—always with the goal of truly reaching people. She is now applying this expertise to present AI applications in a way that reveals them for what they are: not promises of the future, but concrete solutions that are already working today. Here’s an example that illustrates this point: a restaurant that uses a delivery robot—so that the service staff has more time for direct interaction with guests. It’s not technology replacing people. Rather, it’s technology that provides support so that people can focus on what really matters.
Learn more about the project and Ina Biesenbach’s work in the in-depth interview “AI and Craftsmanship Are Not a Contradiction.”
Cybersecurity: Safe Use of AI as a Prerequisite
Anyone who wants to use AI must be able to do so securely. Data protection, compliance, and IT security are not afterthoughts for companies—they are prerequisites. That is why we are establishing a dedicated focus on cybersecurity: with a practical approach, a growing network, and two new team members who are specifically shaping this area.
Apostolos Chatzopoulos – Cybersecurity Project Assistant, Stuttgart
Apostolos Chatzopoulos studied industrial engineering with a focus on media at the Stuttgart Media University and brings experience in planning and implementing digital projects. Since June 1, 2026, he has been working at the intersection of AI, digitalization, and IT security—and sees the same need there that the Baden-Württemberg AI Alliance recognizes in other areas: “Companies need practical guidance that empowers them rather than overwhelming them,” Apostolos summarizes. Pooling knowledge, bringing stakeholders together, and actively helping to shape Stuttgart as an AI hub—that is his mission.
Susanne Götze – Cybersecurity Project Coordinator
Susanne Götze has been a member of the cybersecurity team at the AI Alliance Baden-Württemberg since June 1, 2026. She brings nearly nine years of experience in project management—including time at the medical technology company Richard Wolf GmbH, where she not only strategically established a Project Management Office but also took charge of coordination following a real-world cyberattack. Most recently, she served as an advisor in the executive board office at SSB AG, where she managed the entire project portfolio up to the executive board level. This combination of structured project management and direct experience with IT security incidents makes her a go-to expert who doesn’t just view cybersecurity from a theoretical perspective but understands it from a practical standpoint. Her goal at the Baden-Württemberg AI Alliance is to make the topic more accessible to SMEs and to build a robust network that provides concrete support to companies in the secure deployment of AI.
What connects these two areas
At first glance, securing a skilled workforce and cybersecurity seem like very different topics. What they have in common is that both stem from a specific need that we, as the AI Alliance Baden-Württemberg, are familiar with from the regions—and both require team members who not only understand this need but can also translate it into structured solutions. That is exactly what the new project team does.