AI between practice, research, and real-world application—collaboration with HTWK Leipzig

How 19 students help to make corporate knowledge more readily available - and what companies can learn from this.

Knowledge is abundant in many companies - but unfortunately often in places where nobody can find it: in emails, old wikis, personal notes or heads. New employees in particular spend a lot of time searching and asking questions. Existing teams lose time, focus - and sometimes even patience.

This is exactly where we come in.

Together with an interdisciplinary project team at HTWK Leipzig, we have been working on a concrete solution to this problem since this summer semester: an AI-based, adaptive tutor that structures corporate knowledge, makes it accessible and - depending on the role, previous knowledge and learning objective - imparts it individually.

A real project - not a university experiment

The module, led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Both, brings together 19 students (16 Bachelor, 3 Master) in a two-semester project with Netresearch. The entry point is the design thinking process - and with good reason: we don't just want to develop a technical solution, but a system that works from the user's point of view, is accepted and brings real added value.

What makes the project special:
It is not a purely academic exercise, but a practical development project with a real use case - and the chance to develop a marketable product from it later. For the students, this means: real responsibility, real feedback, real implementation.

What exactly is it about?

The goal: an adaptive AI tutor that ...

• automatically prepares company knowledge
  
  
• creates personalized learning paths
  
  
• is accessible via a modern front end
  
  
• is technologically set up in such a way that further development (e.g. as a SaaS solution) is possible at a later date

Technically, we rely on an open source stack with React, FastAPI, PostgreSQL and the integration of LLMs (Large Language Models) for semantic analysis and knowledge generation.

Why this is also exciting for other companies

Even if the tutor is at the center of attention, the project is exemplary of a much more fundamental challenge:

💡How do we make knowledge usable, scalable and sustainable in companies?

Whether it's onboarding, internal training, process understanding or the documentation of experiential knowledge - AI can help wherever knowledge is distributed, outdated or inaccessible. The tutor is just one possible use case. It is just as conceivable, for example:

• semantic search functions via internal data sources
  
  
• AI-supported assistants for sales or support teams
  
  
• Dynamic knowledge databases with natural language input
  
  

• Is my data secure?
  Yes - we rely on traceable, transparent AI components. Where possible, we use open source models that can be operated locally.
  
  
• What about the GDPR?
  Data protection is not an afterthought for us, but a basic requirement. Our solutions are designed in such a way that personal data is protected, not processed in an uncontrolled manner and handled in a traceable manner at all times.
  
  
• Can the systems be hosted at our company?
  Yes - the technology stack is designed in such a way that hosting in your own data center or on private cloud infrastructures is possible without any problems. Anyone who wants to can retain full control.

Trust is crucial, especially for SMEs. That's why we don't develop black boxes - but solutions that can be integrated into existing IT and compliance structures.

Our aim is not to develop AI solutions as an end in themselves, but as a tool that solves specific problems.

From research to real application

At Netresearch, we have been working on digital solutions for companies for over 25 years - from content management and e-commerce to modern AI applications. With the mission "enable & connect people", we see ourselves not only as developers, but also as partners for companies that want to make their knowledge, processes and teams fit for the future.

For us, the collaboration with HTWK Leipzig is part of a living culture of innovation: we bring real challenges from practice into the lecture hall - and bring fresh ideas from the university back into the company.

What we take away from the project

• That young talents with a clear framework and real responsibility are capable of strong results
  
  
• That AI is most effective where it is linked to concrete knowledge and real tasks
  
  
• And that the question of how knowledge is made available in the company will play a strategic role in the future - not just for training, but for everything that makes companies productive
  
  

Curious about what a project like this could look like in your company?

Then feel free to contact us - whether it's about a tutor or a completely different challenge where AI and knowledge come together.