Sharp minds from
DTU Compute support enterprises that have hit a dead end with mathematical problems.
By Bertel Henning Jensen
The group is made up of researchers from DTU Compute that can ‘fly out’ at short notice to deal with specific assignments at companies that have run into difficulties with their figures.
The customers are not the only ones to benefit from the travelling number crunchers, however. For DTU Compute, the setup gives researchers a unique opportunity to build up networks with enterprises, and to see their work applied in practice.
“The idea is, after all, that we should interact with the world around us. It’s not healthy for us to lock ourselves away and focus exclusively on teaching students and conducting research. We need input and to give back to society. This already happens to some extent, but the Number Cruncher Flying Squad is a whole new approach. You could call it a kind of speed dating with the business community,” says Poul G. Hjorth, associate professor at DTU Compute and one of the brains behind the Flying Squad.
The Flying Squad is a spin-off from what is known as the ESGI project.
ESGI (European Study Groups with Industry) is the umbrella title for work meetings where researchers are presented with selected problems or challenges from the industry. The study groups are an attempt to move theory from the university world closer to actual problem issues in the industrial sphere, and to give industry representatives an even better opportunity to draw on the knowledge that resides behind the university walls.
The Flying Squad has since been described as a speed dating version of ESGI. But whereas ESGI is only held once a year (on the third week in August) and requires companies to send representatives to the university, the Flying Squad can assemble at any time and head out to visit the companies on site. Associate Professor Poul G. Hjorth expects that the team will handle two or three assignments per year.