In this episode, Carsten Bange talks with Alex Kolokolov about Data2Kids: A free, nonprofit initiative that helps children learn data visualization through playful, hands-on projects. Alex shares how kids collect data from their own questions, build stories, and create visuals as craft, painting, or digital submissions, supported by workshops, a contest, and expert jury feedback.

Check out the Data2Kids Website: https://data2kids.com/

Artur Yatsenko, Director of Data Engineering at Urban Sports Club shares practical lessons on scaling AI adoption beyond pilots: why constant hackathons can stall progress, how linking AI initiatives to OKRs clarifies impact, and why clear ownership and maintenance plans matter. Plus: measurable AI productivity gains (40 minutes down to 7), personalization via recommendation engines, and why trust in data is the foundation for sustainable AI.

Artur Yatsenko on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/4538nshr

Sidharth Ramachandran (Senior Director Data & AI, RTL Deutschland) shares how RTL’s AI Incubator helps bring GenAI ideas into reality in 8–20 days – from first idea to a working prototype. He also shares what makes AI work different from “deterministic” software, why enablement and hands-on workshops matter as much as engineering, and how to scale adoption without turning governance and permissions into a bottleneck.

This episode is part of our DATA Festival series, featuring speakers from our upcoming event in Munich. Stay tuned for more exciting insights from industry leaders sharing their cutting-edge projects and innovations.

Learn more about RTL's AI journey on stage at the DATA Festival Munich in June – one of Europe's leading events for data, AI, and technology leaders.

👉 Save your spot now: https://hubs.li/Q044Z4qG0

Wolfgang Klein on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/28ja2pyk

“For us, a data marketplace was like a key turning point because it gives transparency what data assets are already there.”

Bosch went from scattered data silos to a much more transparent, shareable data ecosystem. In this episode, Carsten Bange and Florian Bigelmaier talk with Wolfgang Klein and Simeon Rilling (Bosch Digital) about what changed, what did not, and what it takes to move from “everyone has their own database under their desk” to data products, a marketplace, and a company-wide data mesh approach.

This episode is part of our DATA Festival series, featuring speakers from our upcoming event in Munich. Stay tuned for more exciting insights from industry leaders sharing their cutting-edge projects and innovations.

Learn more about Bosch's Journey on stage at the DATA Festival Munich in June – one of Europe's leading events for data, AI, and technology leaders.

👉 Save your spot now: https://hubs.li/Q044Z4qG0

Wolfgang Klein on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/57jcja2j

ZEISS built a Responsible AI Office so AI governance doesn’t become a bottleneck. In this episode, Alexandra Wander (Program Manager for Responsible AI, ZEISS) explains why ZEISS built the office and how it orchestrates AI governance across a global, federated organization. We discuss EU AI Act compliance, risk management, AI security, and why data governance is inseparable from AI governance – plus practical steps to build policies, training, and scalable controls without slowing innovation.

This episode is part of our DATA Festival series, featuring speakers from our upcoming event in Munich. Stay tuned for more exciting insights from industry leaders sharing their cutting-edge projects and innovations.

Meet Alexandra on stage at the DATA Festival Munich in June – one of Europe's leading events for data, AI, and technology leaders.

👉 Save your spot now: https://hubs.li/Q044Z4qG0

Alexandra Wander on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/f9usj9py

Eine starke Datenkultur entscheidet maßgeblich über den Erfolg von Data & AI Initiativen. In seiner Keynote auf dem BARC Data & AI Summit 2025 vertieft Carsten, was eine wirksame Daten- und KI-Kultur ausmacht – und wie die Etablierung dieser in der Praxis gelingt. Im Fokus steht das erprobte BARC Data Culture Framework mit sechs zentralen Hebeln (Leadership, Governance, Kommunikation & Engagement, Ausbildung/Literacy, Data Access, Usability), sowie typischer Stolpersteine und konkreter Ansatzpunkte für Veränderung.

Mehr Best Practices, Erfahrungs- und Erfolgsgeschichten gibt’s auf unserem Data Culture Summit am 23.04. – im vertieften Austausch mit Data Culture Managern verschiedenster Branchen.

Jetzt noch Platz sichern: https://barc.com/events/data-culture-summit/

Carsten Bange auf LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/37sdzd2s

„Eins wollen wir nicht: Dass es am Ende heißt, weil die KI falsch beraten hat, sind vielleicht 10 % der Kundengelder weg – und die sind unwiederbringlich verloren.“

Wie bringt man generative KI sicher in eine föderal organisierte, stark regulierte Finanzgruppe? Carsten spricht mit Andreas Totok, Geschäftsbereichsleiter bei der Finanz Informatik Solutions Plus, über die KI-Strategie der Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe und den sicheren Einsatz von generativer KI im Alltag. Im Mittelpunkt steht der „S-KIPilot“ – eine interne KI-Plattform, die Mitarbeitende mit Chat- und Wissensfunktionen unterstützt. Sie sprechen außerdem über RAG und Vektordatenbanken, das Risko durch Halluzinationen und die Frage, wie sich strukturiertes Wissen künftig noch besser integrieren lässt.

Andreas Totok auf LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/4n7krj8v

"Where we are moving towards is more transactional. It's not just about consuming. It's not about question answering. It's all about also to be able to perform tasks."

In this episode, Carsten Bange and co-host Florian Bigelmaier talk with Dr. Harsha Gurulingappa, Global Head of AI & Machine Learning Practice at Merck about what it really takes to scale AI from pilots to enterprise-wide impact – reaching up to 50,000 employees with an internal AI companion. Harsha explains why phased rollouts outperform “big-bang” launches and breaks down the non-negotiables for scaling responsibly: governance and traceability, data privacy guardrails, security, and legal/regional compliance.

This episode is part of our DATA Festival series, featuring speakers from our upcoming event in Munich. Stay tuned for more exciting insights from industry leaders sharing their cutting-edge projects and innovations. Merck will also give insights on their AI projects on stage this June at the DATA Festival Munich -- one of Europe's leading events for data, AI, and technology leaders.

👉 Save your spot now: [https://hubs.li/Q044Z4qG0]

Dr. Harsha Gurulingappa on LinkedIn: [https://tinyurl.com/4zsavenz]

"AI's biggest advantage is its flexibility -- and the way a human can interface with it."

In this episode Carsten talks with Julian Kurz, Lead Machine Learning Engineer at HMS Analytical Software, about how generative AI is changing collaboration in pharma, why practical AI needs multiple interaction layers (not just chat), the tension between ROI pressure and real-world change management, and why "context engineering" plus a strong data culture are key to reliable, cost-effective agentic systems.

Enjoy this episode!

Julian Kurz on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mryr3bhc

"A solid data foundation was not essential for early AI prototypes and pilots. But it is critical for scaling AI across the enterprise."

In the first episode of our market update series this year, Shawn Rogers and Carsten Bange break down what's changing right now in data, AI, and analytics: Europe's push for data sovereignty, why data quality has become the #1 blocker for scaling AI (19% → 55%), and why AI delivery is shifting from IT-led rollouts to business-owned execution.

Get in touch with us!

Carsten Bange: <https://barc.com/team/dr-carsten-bange/>

Shawn Rogers: <https://barc.com/team/shawn-rogers/>

BARC on LinkedIn: <https://tinyurl.com/4j96bfnf>

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