On 21 October, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) opened a teaching computer centre at DEGGs in Deggendorf:ROBERT – the East Bavarian Computing Centre for Education and the Development of Resilient Technologies. It is the first data centre in Europe to have been built specifically to provide students with a comprehensive education covering all aspects of data centre operations – from building services, power supply and cooling, through to hardware, networks and storage systems, right up to virtualisation, cloud computing and automation.

“With ROBERT, we are bringing the infrastructure on which our digital society is based directly into the classroom. Our students don’t just learn how a data centre works here – they run it,” explains DIT-President Prof. Waldemar Berg. The centre fills a gap that is recognised by both universities and businesses. Whilst the theory behind networks, storage systems and power supply is taught well at universities, very few graduates have ever worked in an operational data centre.

Learning with Real Equipment

Head of ROBERT Prof. Dr. Helena Liebelt notes that whilst the teaching computer centre is part of the Faculty of Computer Science, it is open to students from a wide range of degree programmes – from computer science and electrical engineering to civil engineering. A lecture theatre and a workshop are located right next to the server rooms. “What is explained in the morning, the students put into practice on real equipment in the afternoon,” says Liebelt. “The centre is to be used for courses involving groups of up to 20 students, covering, amongst other things, building management, energy efficiency and green technologies, network and security management, disaster recovery, and the use of artificial intelligence in energy management.” At the same time, it is available to DIT's researchers for computationally intensive projects. ROBERT is also designed as a ‘living lab’, Professor Liebelt explains: “A computing centre for teaching must never be ‘finished’. It grows alongside the industry and our own research – and each generation of students will find a centre that is slightly different from the one before.”

Together with the Industry

ROBERT is a joint project between academia and industry. DIT provides premises, staff, and teaching and research resources. The technical equipment is supplied by the collaborating partners, who also ensure it is continuously updated. Industry is represented not only through the patronage of the Association of Innovative Data Centres (VIRZ), but also by numerous companies and organisations: Airsys Deutschland GmbH, Amphenol Sachsenkabel, Intel Deutschland GmbH, justairtech GmbH, PANDUIT, di RITTAL GmbH & Co. KG, Siemens stock company, synaforce GmbH and ZVK GmbH. The Leibniz Computing Centre, the Max Planck Computing and Data Facility and MEGWARE Computer Vertrieb & Service GmbH also contribute a high level of technical expertise. For Hartwig Bazzanella, VIRZ-Executive, one thing is clear: “Our industry needs skilled workers who understand a data centre as a whole. ROBERT will provide precisely this training – which is why we wholeheartedly support the project.” Prof. Dr. Andreas Berl, Dean of the Faculty Computer Science, echoes this sentiment: “ROBERT brings together teaching, research and professional practice under one roof. This benefits our students as well as our research and our partners.”

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