"Digital Transformation – Urban Futures"

With the profile line "Digital Transformation – Urban Futures", the scientists at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam are particularly active in the following subject areas:

1. Preparation and visualisation of data to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): Open, intuitively explorable data portals are just as much a part of target group-oriented reporting as customisable web-based compilations of infographics, diagrams, maps and texts for specific questions from politics, associations, science and the general public. Data visualisations should not only provide information about planetary boundaries, they should also initiate changes in behaviour and attitudes in society as a whole.
2. Preparation and visualisation of cultural collections: Design issues, such as how physical materiality, size formats or the sensory experience of interacting with an object can be experienced in virtual exhibitions, are at the forefront alongside the responsibility to make the origin and context of origin of artworks visible.
3. Conception, design and prototyping of new forms of human-computer interaction (e.g. augmented & virtual reality) in various fields of application, such as health, education or disaster management.
4. Accompanying measures to systematically develop and expand data skills and data sovereignty among all those involved, including documentation of data processes in accordance with international (subject-specific) standards and the code of the German Research Foundation. This includes all groups involved at the university, from students and early career researchers to professors, as well as the relevant cooperation partners.

The University of Applied Sciences Potsdam regularly cooperates with public institutions, research organisations, NGOs, global companies, start-ups and SMEs for research, transfer and teaching projects. A wide variety of methods are used: co-design and participation formats in neighbourhood contexts - e.g. in neighbourhood development - are used alongside quantitative methods, such as web scraping or machine learning, to analyse large amounts of data. Digital, physical or hybrid prototypes form the basis for evaluating and trialling new solutions. Prototypes give material form to possible futures. Experimental spaces for prototypes and participatory involvement processes make it possible to test new methods, technologies, products or services under real conditions. Modern eye tracking systems and biofeedback methods are used for a differentiated user experience and usability evaluation of new human-technology interactions and visualisation formats.

A network of cooperating labs forms the scientific infrastructure for research and teaching in the Data//Interaction//Knowledge profile line. The Urban Complexity Lab focuses on the visualisation and exploration of urban data and cultural collections. The Interaction Design Lab designs and evaluates new human-computer interfaces. The development of prototyping tools and co-design methods, e.g. for virtual and augmented worlds, is another focus of the lab.

The profile line strives for even stronger networking with both research and application partners in the capital region. In the field of science communication, the region offers a unique concentration of institutions in the context of climate research, the environment, sustainability and transformation in Germany with a high demand for target group-orientated science communication formats. Innovative digital and hybrid formats with high usability and user experience are also in demand in the area of memory institutions for making their object and data collections tangible and will continue to play a central role in the profile line in the future. New forms of human-computer interaction with augmented and extended realities for the visualisation of cultural collections will be a focal point. Finally, research and development work on (data-based) citizen-friendly digital administrative services in a region with numerous federal and state authorities will increasingly become the focus of the profile line.

In future, a cross-disciplinary DataLab will offer the opportunity to build up subject-specific and general data skills along the data lifecycle and to develop specific questions using standardised procedures as well as new methodological approaches and a defined software environment that follows the principles of open source. To increase the reusability of FAIR data and data sovereignty, including data criticism, ethics etc. along the data life cycle, criteria and assessment (tools) for FAIRification are to be developed. Finally, the aim is to establish a framework for data competence in coordination with relevant stakeholders such as NFDI, EOSC.