Yesterday, 25 February, Constructor Knowledge Labs (CKL), in collaboration with the School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), hosted the opening session of the new CKL/CSE Seminar Series at Constructor University venue, which gathered 38 participants and sparked an engaging discussion. This new initiative is meant to bring together researchers from CKL, CSE, and the wider Constructor University community for meaningful scholarly dialogue, and long-term interdisciplinary collaboration across research and practice.
The seminar was opened by Dr. Stanislav Protasov, Member of the CKL Strategic Advisory Board, Co-founder and Technology President of Acronis, and Managing Director of Constructor University Bremen. In his talk, he discussed scientific seminars as mechanisms for knowledge transfer, the formation of research schools, and the emergence of new interdisciplinary fields. Referring to examples from different periods of scientific development, he showed how sustained academic dialogue and close interaction between universities and industry support the translation of research into technology and practice. He also outlined the founders’ experience, from early collaboration with universities to the creation of globally adopted technology products.
Professor Alexander Tormasov, Director of Academic Affairs at CKL, Professor of Computer Science at Constructor University Bremen, and Chief Research Officer at Constructor Technology, continued with an introduction on a structured innovation ecosystem. He outlined the research–industry cycle in which universities generate ideas, industry applies and develops them, and new challenges return to academia – the approach that supports technology transfer, student training, and the creation of startups and intellectual property.
The keynote session was delivered by Ilya Shimchik, Team Principal at Constructor Racing (CKL), who presented the Autonomous Racing research platform. He focused on advancing Physical AI, intelligent systems operating under real-world physical constraints. Through international high-speed competitions such as A2RL, Constructor Labs develops and validates real-time perception, planning, and control algorithms in fully driverless race cars reaching speeds above 250 km/h. These extreme conditions allow the team to test autonomy where mistakes are costly, helping move autonomous systems closer to real-world deployment.
The seminars will be held monthly. The next session will take place on 18 March. Stay tuned for updates and announcements!