[AISWorld] 1-3 Month Research Fellowships at the Weizenbaum-Institute for the Networked Society in Berlin

[Hanna Krasnova]

Research Fellowships at the Weizenbaum-Institute for the Networked Society

Call for Applications
The Weizenbaum Institute is pleased to invite applications for research
fellowships for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Visiting fellows will be
hosted at the Institute for a period of one to three months. They will have
the opportunity to conduct research on-site in Berlin, one of Europe’s most
vibrant cities.

I. Aim
Our aim is to establish and to cultivate fruitful collaborations between
the Weizenbaum Institute and researchers around the globe, thus helping to
position it as a leading research institution world-wide. For our visiting
scholars, the Weizenbaum Institute offers an inspiring multi-disciplinary
research environment with access to other leading research institutions.

II. Submission of Applications
Researchers are asked to submit their applications addressed to the
specific research group with which they would like to be associated. A list
of research groups currently offering fellowships is provided in section V
below. Applications for fellowships may be submitted over the course of the
whole year. Please indicate in your application the months in 2018, 2019,
or 2020, which you would like to spend at the Weizenbaum Institute.
Applications must include a curriculum vitae, a publications list, a
two-page project description, information about previous work, and your
planned working program for the duration of your research stay. Projects
resulting in publications are highly encouraged.

III. Selection criteria
The researcher’s visit and proposed work should be related to one of the
specific areas of focus of the Weizenbaum Institute’s research groups; the
period of residence is intended to facilitate and prepare interdisciplinary
collaboration, and to result in publication. Applications should define
target outcomes clearly (e.g., publications, grant proposals, etc.). The
applicant’s curriculum vitae and the fit of the proposed project to the
overall research program and aims of the Weizenbaum Institute will be
crucial for consideration.
IV. Financial support
Weizenbaum Institute offers appropriate financial support to visiting
fellows. This includes a fellowship provided by one of the seven founding
institutions of the Weizenbaum Institute (details are provided below).
Specifically, at the University of Potsdam (UP) we are accepting fellowship
applications from junior (post-doc level) and senior researchers (e.g.
assistant, associate, full, emeritus professors) for the following research
groups:

***** “DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND WELL-BEING”  *****
(please send your application to Annika Baumann, annibaumann at uni-potsdam.de
)

Social media, smartphone applications, wearables and other emerging
technologies are transforming the society we live in today. These
technologies change the way we develop relationships, communicate with one
another, work, and spend our leisure time. Because such platforms
increasingly permeate our daily routines, stakeholders have begun to raise
issues about the meaning and long-term consequences of the changes they are
bringing about. Proponents express strong optimism, linking the use of
these technologies to significant benefits individually and socially;
opponents raise the specter of increased risk and negative consequences
like information overload, addiction, growing envy, decreased attention
span, and loss of privacy. In light of this controversy, as a member of our
research team, you will join us in exploring the impact of these digital
technologies, especially social media, on individual well-being in a
broader sense.

**** “DIGITAL INTEGRATION” *****
(please send your application to Prof. Dr. Hanna Krasnova,
krasnova at uni-potsdam.de)

Social inclusion, a central component of any democratic society, has
emerged as a particularly critical issue in the face of recent ongoing
refugee crises. A sudden wave of migration has raised a number of
challenges including operational ones such as expedient and unbureaucratic
registration, provision of medical support, transportation and housing; as
well as more strategic challenges such as equal access to education,
employment, and housing, to name just three. Given the IT-savviness of so
many of the refugees at present, social media and other information and
communication technologies (ICTs) could become powerful tools in supporting
integration processes. Up to now, however, the role of digital technology
in supporting social inclusion is a research question that has hardly been
investigated. As a member of our research team, you will join us in
exploring the possibilities and potentials, as we seek to gain further
insights into the role of ICT in social integration processes.

***** "EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE DIGITAL SOCIETY" *****
(please send your application to Dr. Gergana Vladova,
gergana.vladova at wi.uni-potsdam.de)

Digital technologies increasingly place new demands on education, vocation,
and the required competences of employees worldwide. At the same time, the
long-term implications of these developments remain unclear. In light of
the ongoing transformations, there is a growing need to consider what kinds
of knowledge, education, and competence will be crucial for members of the
workforce in the new digital age, and how this vital information can be
effectively communicated. Indeed, how can schools integrate digital
education into the classroom effectively? How do we design
digital-competence training? What approaches can be taken to counteract the
devaluation of occupational skills of some employee groups in order to
ensure their long-term workforce integration? As a member of our research
team, you will join us in exploring these and other challenges at the
intersection of education and digital technologies.

For more information regarding the conditions of the research fellowship,
please contact the person to whom you will submit your application
(corresponding to the research group in which you are interested).

______

Prof. Dr. Hanna Krasnova, Chair
Chair of Business Informatics, esp. Social Media and Data Science
Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences
Universität Potsdam
www.uni-potsdam.de/social-media-krasnova
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