Orientation in the Digital Transformation — Understanding and Sustainably Shaping the Digital Transformation

Type of event: Seminar
Institution: Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics & Natural Sciences
Funding period: 01.10.2022 to 30.09.2023
Short title: MikroPolis

Extract from the funding application: "The project works with data on a meta-level. It focuses on the things, actions and needs transferred into data through dematerialization or dematerialization. This gives rise to the digitalization path that will bring about fundamental changes to social infrastructures."

Platform MikroPolis.org

Civil society is facing significant upheaval. Both social and digital transformations will need to be mastered in the coming years. However, these should not be considered separately, but rather in conjunction with each other. The seminar will focus on both developments. In this area of tension, there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome. In order to do justice to this, people need to become aware of their social responsibility. In order for awareness to result in critical reflection and the ability to act, the appropriate basic knowledge of digital transformation is required. Within the Mikropolis seminar, students from various disciplines were taught and applied this knowledge using an innovative didactic concept. The central starting point for this is the Mikropolis.org platform, which provides essays by lecturers as well as videos and storyboards created by students. The digitalization path was used to make it easier for students to engage with the dynamics of digital transformation. This shows the course of digitalization, creates plausible narratives of the digital transformation and documents the debates that have taken place in the context of digitalization.

Review and results

As part of the course, students were provided with comprehensive knowledge on digital transformation. Based on this knowledge, the aim was for students to work independently in small groups to explore an issue relating to sustainability and digital transformation in greater depth. They were closely supervised by the lecturers. As a result of this critical reflection and application of what they had learned, exciting short films were produced in three heterogeneous teams. In line with the UHH's Third Mission, these were shown to the public and discussed at a short film slam:

Team 1 explored the circular economy, taking new technologies into account. The focus was on the question of whether and how sustainability and climate protection can be combined with our economic system.
Team 2 dealt with chat bots that want to be friends with us. The focus here was on ethical issues and how to design them responsibly.
Team 3 explored the sustainability of data centers. The team identified creative ways to operate data centers in a more climate-friendly way and made suggestions on how each person can make an individual contribution.

In addition to the students' exciting findings, the lecturers were also able to draw insights from the event:

Linking the digital transformation with climate change and sustainability is possible and urgent
The deliberate use of controversy can stimulate discussions. The age difference between the lecturers was particularly helpful here
Heterogeneous groups promote a culture of discussion
Sound recordings in new locations promote the quality of the project results
Boldly exploring new paths in science communication promotes student motivation and can reach new target groups.

The enthusiasm of the students for the topics is still present after the event and some continue to research these topics.

Tips from lecturers for lecturers

Embedding sustainability discussions into every course has the potential to increase the impact of your own research on society. By encouraging students to think beyond the immediate subject content and reflect on the impact of their work on the environment and society, innovative solutions to real-world problems can be developed, bringing about positive change in a variety of areas.

Promoting short film slams instead of traditional final presentations is an effective way of making the knowledge created by students accessible to a wider audience and recognizing it accordingly. This creative form of presentation allows students to present complex ideas in an understandable and engaging way, helping their work to be heard beyond the confines of academia and potentially effect positive change in society.