Talented, not only in research
Why should people still read Kant today, who has a knack for juggling not only words, and how does the University of Passau position itself in cybersecurity terms: a 2023 research communication video review.
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Events, policy advice, assessments in the media: science communication is part and parcel of a researcher's day-to-day routine at the University of Passau. 2023, too, saw researchers take part in a variety of communication activities. First shown at the Dies academicus in November, this video provides a glimpse behind the scenes. On this day of academic celebration, the University of Passau marks its birthday. In 2023, the theme was cybersecurity (Related press release).
New members
The video provides an occasion for early career researchers to introduce themselves. Against the backdrop of the Kant Anniversary in 2024, Professor of Applied Ethics Karoline Reinhardt explains why it remains important to read his writings even three hundred years after he was born. Computer scientist Professor Steffen Herbold does research in AI engineering while computer linguist Professor Johann-Mattis List demonstrates that he can juggle not just words and numbers. The chairs held by these two professors were created using funds from Hightech Agenda Bavaria . Dr Terese Venus established the research group "Bioeconomy Economics" at the University of Passau. Below you will find brief profiles of the researchers featuring in the video:
How can AI be used in software development?
Professor Steffen Herbold has held the Chair of AI Engineering at the University of Passau since 2022. Prior to his appointment as Professor of "Methods and Applications of Machine Learning" at Clausthal University of Technology, he had served as stand-in data analysis professor on various occasions, including at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He studied, completed his doctorate and earned his habilitation in computer science at Göttingen University.
Professor Johann-Mattis List
How to compare the over 6 000 languages spoken around the world, and how do computer-based methods help?
How to compare the over 6 000 languages spoken around the world, and how do computer-based methods help?
Comparative Linguist Johann-Mattis List has held the Chair for Multilingual Computational Linguistics at the University of Passau since January 2023 and heads the ERC-funded research group "ProduSemy". Before that, he served as stand-in professor at Bielefeld University and as senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena where he headed another ERC-funded research group on computer-assisted language comparison. Professor List earned his doctorate at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and wrote his habilitation at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena.
Professor Karoline Reinhardt
What kind of ethical questions are raised by of social and political transformation?
What kind of ethical questions are raised by of social and political transformation?
Professor Karoline Reinhardt is Junior Professor for Applied Ethics at the University of Passau. Before taking on her position at the University of Passau, she was a PostDoctoral fellow at the Ethics & Philosophy Lab of the DFG Cluster of Excellence “Machine Learning: New Perspectives for Science” and the International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities at the University of Tübingen. Previous to that, she held research and teaching positions at universities in Ankara, Graz, New Orleans, and Munich. She is a member of the Young Academy of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences.
Dr Terese Venus
What does society need for the transition from a fossil economy to a bio-based economy?
What does society need for the transition from a fossil economy to a bio-based economy?
Dr Venus has been heading the "bioeconomy Economics" Research Group at the University of Passau since March 2023. Her fields of research are ecological economics, agricultural economics, and development economics with a focus on environmental assessment, value chain management, public acceptance, and financing of new technologies as well as impact assessment. She had previously earned her doctoral degree in economics at Technische Universität München and worked there as a postdoc.
Research on the cutting edge
A significant part of research communication takes place at events. The video shows excerpts from the symposium of the Neuburger Gesprächskreis association on "Democracy at Risk": Professor Florian Töpfl (Political Communication with a Focus on Eastern Europe) presented research findings from the ERC Consolidator Grant project "The consequences of the internet for Russia's informational influence abroad (RUSINFORM)". One of the group’s lines of inquiry is to establish how the Kremlin is undermining democracy abroad using many different channels.
Professor Hannah Schmid-Petri (Science Communication) and Professor Ralf Hohlfeld (Communication Studies) brought the annual conference of the DGPuK divisions Science Communication and Journalism Studies to Passau in September 2023. One of the conference themes was communication in times of multiple crises. Professor Schmid-Petri, who researches climate change communication, explains what she believes is needed now.
The main theme of this year's Dies academicus was cybersecurity. In the video, Dr Henrich C. Pöhls (IT Security) reports about efforts previously undertaken by the University of Passau in this regard. Legal expert Professor Thomas Riehm gives insight into the Bavarian Research Alliance ForDaySec and explains why, when it comes to cybersecurity, it is important to consider legal aspects right from the start.
Research heard by policymakers
Policy advice is also science communication, at least according to the definition of the Science Council. Researchers from the University of Passau are frequently invited to Berlin. The video shows a number of highlights, including innovation researcher Professor Carolin Häussler, who as a member of the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI) presented the Annual Report to Germany's Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Professor Lars Rensmann (political science) advised the Bundestag on the Democracy Promotion Act. Legal expert Dr Patrick Abel offered his assessment of the Energy Security of Supply Act. The Executive Office of the President at the White House thanked economist Professor Stefan Bauernschuster by e-mail after the current US Economic Report had cited one of his studies about the impact of publicly funded childcare on the participation of mothers in the labour market.
Early career researchers
On the strength of their creativeness and hidden talent, early career researchers have scored high in science communication: With her project "Codeversum", computer scientist Isabella Graßl successfully participated in the 2023 Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) University Competition, which is organised once a year by the non-profit organisation WiD in collaboration with the Bundesverband Hochschulkommunikation (Federal Association of University Communication) and the Conference of University Lecturers on the Federal Ministry of Education and Research’s science year theme. This year’s theme is "Fascination Universe". In "Codeversum", Isabella Graßl and her team offered programming courses for children and adolescents – specifically for girls – in an effort to give them an opportunity to learn how to programme in a playful manner and experience the thrill of astrophysics.
Nour Shaban is one of the new doctoral students at DFG Research Training Group 2720 "Digital Platform Ecosystems". She is from Egypt’s megacity Cairo and came to Passau to research on the topic of platform economics from the marketing perspective. In the video, she explains why research at the Research Training Group is so special. Her video is part of the Social Media series which aims to give early career researchers an opportunity not only to present their work but also to showcase their "hidden talent". Nour Shaban's talent involves puzzles and for this reason the area in front of the University Library turns into a large sudoku square during the shoot.