Sabina Jeschke

Timeline

1. 2004–2009

   Doctorate and two professorships

   She studies physics and computer science at TU Berlin, including a research stay at NASA Ames Research Center, and completes her doctorate with honors in 2004. She becomes a junior professor at TU Berlin in 2006, then takes a professorship at the University of Stuttgart's Institute for IT Service Technologies in 2007, where she also directs the Computing Center (RUS).

2. 2009–2017

   Cybernetics Lab at RWTH Aachen

   In 2009, she becomes a professor and director of the Cybernetics Lab IMA/ZLW & IfU in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University, and she is the faculty's vice dean from October 2011 to September 2016. Her research there covers robotics, cyber-physical systems and artificial intelligence, including multi-agent systems and cognitive computing. During a sabbatical in 2017, she works on artificial consciousness and helps build a think tank on strong artificial intelligence at Volvo Cars in Gothenburg.

3. 2014–2016

   RoboCup titles and two honours

   With the Carologistics team of RWTH Aachen University and the Aachen University of Applied Sciences, she wins the RoboCup Logistics League world title in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The German Informatics Society names her one of Germany's digital minds in 2014, and the International Society for Engineering Pedagogy (IGIP) awards her the Golden Nikola Tesla Chain in 2015 for her contributions to engineering education.

4. 2017–2021

   Deutsche Bahn management board

   She joins the Deutsche Bahn management board in November 2017 as the member for digitalisation and technology; her own research subjects include robotics and artificial intelligence. The supervisory board extends her contract by five years in December 2019, through the end of 2025. She leaves the board at her own request in May 2021, saying she wants to focus on the start-up scene and high-tech developments.

5. 2021–2022

   Arctic Brains and Quantagonia

   In April 2021, she founds Arctic Brains AB, a Swedish company for development and consulting in artificial intelligence. In December 2021, she co-founds the quantum-computing start-up Quantagonia GmbH with Sebastian Pokutta, Dirk Zechiel and Philipp Hannemann, and the company closes a pre-seed round in February 2022.

6. Since 2021

   Chairing KI Park in Berlin

   In October 2021, she becomes Chair of the Board of KI Park e.V. in Berlin, which aims to become a European ecosystem for next-generation AI applications, and the board re-elects her in 2023. In October 2022, KI Park opens a location on the southern campus of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.

7. 2024–2025

   Rheinmetall supervisory board seat

   In December 2024, Rheinmetall's supervisory board nominates her as a new member, and chair Ulrich Grillo says her expertise will help the company with digitalisation and the use of AI. In May 2025, she is appointed to the board until the 2028 annual general meeting and joins its Strategy, Technology and ESG Committee. In September 2025, she also joins the supervisory board of Aumovio.

8. As of October 2026

   Directing a quantum AI center

   She is Director of the Center for Quantum Computing Driven AI at the Institute for Smart Electronics and Systems at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg. Her research interests include quantum machine learning and hybrid quantum computing.