Data-Driven Collab and Digital Lab

• Course type: Seminar (several)
• Institution: Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences
• Funding period: 01.04.2023 to 31.03.2024
• Short title: DDCo-Lab

Extract from the funding application: "This project funding will enable the conception and development of the inter- and transdisciplinary digital teaching laboratory DDCo-Lab in cooperation with various external partners from Hamburg. The teaching project to be acquired focuses on teaching the fundamentally critical understanding of data collection and storage processes, their processing, analysis and visualisation with real data and real data challenges."

The DDCo-Lab project

The development of the DDCo-Lab project aimed to provide students with an inter- and transdisciplinary learning environment to prepare them for the demands of the modern working world and to strengthen their data literacy. This included both technical skills and a critical understanding of data processes.

Collaboration with external partners from industry, such as Encoway GmbH, Inovex GmbH and LichtBlick SE, enabled hands-on learning content through real-world challenges and data, providing students with insights into current industry trends. Design-based learning (DBL) was chosen as the central teaching method to facilitate the learning process and encourage students' creativity and innovation.

Data literacy as an interdisciplinary skill was another core aspect of the DDCo Lab, supported by a multidisciplinary teaching team guiding interdisciplinary student groups.

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Review and results

The DDCo-Lab has achieved a number of key results that have made the teaching project a success. Here are some of them:

• Interdisciplinary learning: the DDCo-Lab has created a platform where students from different disciplines can collaborate to tackle real-world data challenges. This not only fostered an understanding of data from different perspectives, but also promoted interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing.
• Practical experience: By partnering with external companies, students were given the opportunity to gain real-world experience and apply their theoretical knowledge in real-life situations. This strengthened their skills and confidence in dealing with data and better prepared them for the labour market.
• Development of solutions: The DDCo Lab enabled students to develop data-based solutions to real-world challenges. This not only led to the development of innovative ideas, but also to the practical implementation of concepts that had a positive impact on the partner companies.
• Promoting design-based learning: The use of design-based learning (DBL) as a central teaching method enabled students to develop creative and innovative solutions to complex problems. This fostered their critical thinking, problem-solving skills and ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.
• Strengthening collaboration: By collaborating with external partners and working in multidisciplinary teams, students were encouraged to work together effectively and improve their communication and teamwork skills. This strengthened their ability to succeed in dynamic and interdisciplinary environments.

Overall, the DDCo Lab has helped to deepen understanding of data literacy, develop practical skills and strengthen collaboration between students, faculty and external partners. It has made a valuable contribution to the education of future professionals while developing innovative solutions to real-world challenges.

Tips from lecturers for lecturers

The partnerships with external companies could serve as a model for other teaching projects that want to promote close co-operation between university and industry. This could help to provide students with practical experience and improve their career prospects. The digital teaching materials and tools developed as part of the project could also be used in other courses or educational institutions to improve access to high-quality educational content and promote innovative teaching methods.

Overall, the results of the teaching project offer numerous opportunities to promote students' data literacy and critical thinking and to strengthen collaboration between different disciplines and sectors. By adapting and further developing these results, they can be made fruitful in different educational contexts to have a broader impact on education and society as a whole.

Persons involved

Izabel Cvetkovic

Research assistant: Working Group Information Systems, in particular Socio-Technical System Design (WISTS)

Project

• HyMeKI - Hybridisation of human and artificial intelligence in knowledge work

Research focus

• Transfer of tasks and information from humans to AI
• Information disclosure in human-AI collaboration
• Conversational agents and LLMs

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Eylem Tas

Research Assistant/ Transfer Coordinator

Focal points:

• University-Industry Collaborations
• Data Literacy
• AI Literacy
• Design-based Learning

Contact

Dr. Navid Tavanapour

Research Associate (Postdoc)

Research interests: 

• Crowdsourcing
• Gamification
• Collaboration Engineering
• Designing and Applying AI (e.g. Chatbots) for collaborative processes
• Chatbot-Facilitation of individuals/groups
• Social Intelligent Bots
• Human in the Loop
• Natural Language Processing
• Social Media as a channel for (spreading) phenomena (e.g. Conspiracy theory, fake news etc.)
• Social Media analytics
• Knowledge work and –management,
• IT-Innovations management
• Co-Creation/Social Innovation

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