Technical developments have revolutionized the search for and processing of information in recent decades. In almost all areas of life, human activities and processes have been shifted to virtual spaces. The availability of enormous amounts of data of all kinds, the representation of human culture in binary formalizations and the use of data in a wide variety of ways are leading to far-reaching changes in our social and individual lives.
Boundaries are being crossed, new opportunities opened up, but uncertainty and risks are also being increased. We are only at the beginning of these comprehensive and, in part, disruptive and unpredictable changes.
The network's efforts are aimed at strengthening interdisciplinary cooperation in three key areas:
- Events: Networking with the (inter)national scientific community, workshops (expert panels; internal, national and international), symposia and the invitation and hosting of external guests.
- Teaching: Joint teaching activities within the framework of existing curricula (especially at doctoral level) and the establishment and expansion of an HFDT junior research group.
- Research projects: Participation in (inter)national competitive calls for projects and implementation of interdisciplinary research projects.
Kathrin Otrel-Cass
For me, the "Human Factor in Digital Transformation (HFDT)" research network means dealing with the complex changes of digital transformation together. Through the joint exchange from different disciplinary perspectives, we can better deal with digitally induced changes because they are diverse and complex, partly visible and partly invisible, partly gradual and partly erratic.
Kathrin Otrel-Cass' research acts as an interface between people and technology (with a focus on the school sector). This includes Digital?Sicher! a cybersecurity game developed for young people and awarded the Austrian seal of approval for learning apps (valid until May 31, 2025). Hacking Innovative Pedagogies explores what a "rewilding" of digitality in higher education could possibly look like.
Selected projects
Chiara Zuanni
The research network „Human Factor in Digital Transformation (HFDT)“ enables interdisciplinary collaboration and exchanges about the impact and possibilities of the digital transformation and digitalisation of society. The discussions and research we develop together in HFDT enriches my perspective, both conceptually and methodologically, and allows developing innovative ideas and projects combining our expertise.
Chiara Zuanni researches the impact of the digital transformation on museums and on the heritage sector, investigating 3D digitisation, data practices, digital audience research, and born digital curation in memory institutions. She has been local PI of the Erasmus+ project DigiCulture and of the H2020 project ReInHerit, and has worked on a range of smaller projects on museum engagement and born-digital collecting.
Barbara Reiter
At the HFDT, I am fascinated by the diversity of our discussions and questions about the digital transformation of academic work in particular and social change in general. It is no longer a question of purely technical-technological issues; rather, we must increasingly and repeatedly ask how we can and want to deal with digitalization. Only an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach can do justice to the complexity of this topic - and this is precisely what I see being realized in our network.
In teaching and research, in addition to questions of digitalization, I am also concerned with the classic questions of philosophy: how should I live? What is a good life?, but also feminism, didactics, humanization, education, aesthetics, film, chance and serendipity.