Lecture series on Advanced Topics in Information Sciences
During the 2026/27 winter semester, the Department of Information Sciences at the University of Applied Sciences (FHP) will host a series of lectures as part of the ‘Advanced Topics in Information Sciences’ lecture series. The lectures in this series will cover current concepts, studies and methods in information sciences and showcase the broad spectrum of academic discourse in the field.
The lectures are aimed in particular at advanced students on the Master’s programme in Digital Information Management and the Bachelor’s programmes in Archival Studies, Library and Information Science, and Information and Data Management; however, they are expressly open to anyone interested.
All lectures take place at the FHP from 4.00 pm (sharp) and consist of a presentation followed by a discussion.
Further organisational details can be found on this event page. Here you can also find out whether the lecture will be streamed – as separate consent is required for this – and how to register to attend online. No registration is required for in-person attendance; seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Department of Information Sciences looks forward to your participation.
08/10/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Frontiers In Information Sciences: Emerging Issues, Technologies and Governance
Dr. Carolyne Nyaboke Musembe (TU Kenia), Department of Information Science, Language and Communication Studies
Lecture abstract: Information Science is entering a frontier in which information is increasingly created, interpreted, transformed, governed, preserved and circulated through intelligent, interconnected and data-intensive environments. This conceptual lecture examines six interconnected frontiers: intelligent information, trustworthy information, governed information, remembered information, sustainable information, and shared information futures. Rather than treating technological change as the frontier in itself, the lecture argues that the emerging frontier lies in understanding the conditions under which information can be trusted, responsibly governed, meaningfully preserved, sustainably maintained and equitably shaped. The discussion considers the growing participation of artificial intelligence and automated systems in information creation and interpretation; questions of provenance, authenticity, integrity and information literacy in increasingly complex information environments; the governance of data, algorithms and automated decisions; the preservation of digital memory and documentary heritage; the environmental, institutional and infrastructural sustainability of information ecosystems; and questions of access, representation, participation and agency in shaping shared information futures. Particular attention is given to unequal digital and computing infrastructures and to African questions of knowledge, epistemic justice and community participation, recognising that technological and information futures are shaped within uneven social, institutional and infrastructural contexts. Recent developments in content provenance, including emerging standards for documenting the history and transformation of digital content, further illustrate the movement from questions of information trust to questions of governance and accountability. The lecture concludes that Information Science increasingly requires sociotechnical capabilities that connect information organisation, provenance, critical evaluation, governance, preservation, sustainability and inclusion across disciplinary and professional boundaries. The central proposition is that the future of Information Science depends not simply on what technologies can do, but on how societies create, trust, govern, preserve, interpret and share the information ecosystems that increasingly shape development and social life.
15/10/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Networks for modelling knowledge dynamics
Dr. Malte Vogl, The Electronic Life Of The Academy (TELOTA), Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Lecture abstract: The development of information infrastructures is directly intertwined with the dynamics of social group formation and processes of exchange, and influences how knowledge is expressed in writing and language.
This talk presents a theoretical framework for describing such integrated knowledge dynamics – socio-epistemic networks – and outlines studies on the linguistic analysis of the development of academic disciplines, as well as approaches to the quantitative identification of systematic biases in archives. The talk will be accompanied by two short exercises in which participants will apply basic techniques.
22/10/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Using AI to catch sparrows? Big Tech’s impact on the climate, society and the information landscape and how we can do better
Dr. Argie Kasprzik, ZBW
Lecture Abstract: Big Tech’s greed for energy, water, land, raw materials, labour, data and other essential resources, needed to develop and operate commercial services based on generative artificial intelligence (genAI), continues to grow unabated. This kind of aggressive, profit-driven expansion, with no regard for the consequences, is sometimes portrayed as an unavoidable necessity with no alternative (often in conjunction with euphemisms such as ‘disruptive innovation’ or ‘technological openness’) and is sometimes obscured by tactics such as ‘greenwashing’ or the demonstrative drawing of ethical red lines, which are then unhesitatingly withdrawn and crossed when necessary.
The ongoing, commercially driven hype and clever marketing surrounding the latest generation of artificial intelligence methods is creating one thing above all else: the pressure not to be left behind in terms of technology adoption and knowledge. However, whilst the range of proprietary AI-based services is growing rapidly, there is often still a lack of awareness of the immense resources required for training and operation, as well as the practices employed by the major providers to deliver these services.
This lectures begins by bringing together a wide range of aspects relating to the extent to which the current generation of AI methods and, in particular, their commercial application is leaving its mark on the environment, society and our information landscape. We will then explore a number of approaches for both individuals and institutions on how this footprint can be reduced whilst seeking ways to automate our daily workflows and activities, and how a disproportionate increase in this footprint can be prevented in line with the core values of the GLAM sector.
29/10/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Prof. Dr. Achim Oßwald, TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences
Lecturetitel: TBA
The abstract for the lecture follows.
05/11/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
When no single method fits: Situated Storywalks as a participant-led research approach
Prof. Dr. Elke Greifeneder, Berlin School of Library and Information Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Lecture Abstract: What should one do when established methods are insufficient to answer a research question? Observations, interviews, guided tours, touchstone tours and think-aloud methods each offer different approaches to studying library spaces and their use. But what if the research question concerns experiences that cannot be adequately captured by any of these methods?
This lecture introduces the ‘Situated Storywalks’ method, which was developed and tested as part of the study ‘(In)visible Barriers at the Berlin State Library’. The study focused on the individual experiences of library users with various limitations and disabilities. The participants ranged from people with social anxiety disorders to blind people. At the same time, the study aimed to identify barriers that had previously been invisible or unknown to library staff. Established survey methods proved to be only partially suitable for this research question: they were either unable to fully capture the situational experience within the space or required certain communicative and physical abilities. Consequently, a participatory and exploratory research approach was developed that directly links the participants’ individual experiences to the specific location and the respective situation.
What makes this method special is that it is consistently participant-led. Drawing on the study, the presentation demonstrates how Situated Storywalks can be used to reveal barriers that were previously invisible and are experienced in specific situations. The focus is on the question of what new insights such a location-based, participatory approach enables compared to established methods. At the same time, the presentation discusses what happens when a research question highlights the limitations of existing methods – and research must therefore develop not only answers but also new methodological approaches.
12/11/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Dr. Kirsten Elger, GFZ Potsdam
Lecture Title: TBA
The abstract for the lecture follows.
10/12/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Freezing text or preserving information? Archiving in the age of digital intelligence
Dr. Tobias Wildi, docuteam (Switzerland)
Abstract zur Vorlesung: Archives are often still perceived as mere final repositories at the end of a life cycle, particularly where archiving is regarded as a tedious side task alongside the attractive access services offered by repositories and digital reading rooms. This lecture challenges this perception. It demonstrates how digital archives are evolving into active knowledge infrastructures that not only preserve semantics and context, but also make them accessible and analysable. Two developments lay the groundwork for this. The first is the ‘Records in Contexts’ (RiC) archiving standard, which, for the first time, enables the modelling of contextual networks around archival records. The second is machine learning tools, which now make it possible to systematically analyse the content of archived document collections. For reasons of labour efficiency, this was previously not even remotely possible. On this basis, a new archival practice of data intelligence is taking shape. Archival science’s knowledge of provenance and context is not rendered obsolete by this, but rather gains in significance.
17/12/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Prof. Dr. Thomas Stäcker, FH Potsdam, Director of the Darmstadt University and State Library
Lecture Title: TBA
The abstract for the lecture follows.
07/01/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Anja Gerber, Klassik Stiftung Weimar
Lecture Title: TBA
The abstract for the lecture follows.
14/01/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
The EU AI ACT and its implications for the use of AI
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Semar, FH Graubünden
The abstract for the lecture follows.
21/01/2026, 4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Prof. Dr. Antje Michel, FH Potsdam
Lecture Title: TBA
The abstract for the lecture follows.
