DITES - Projects of the Research Centre

The InTraHealth project developed an interactive knowledge portal to raise awareness among healthcare professionals for the professional healthcare of intersex and transgender people. Inter\* and trans people often experience discrimination and structural disadvantage, which can have a negative impact on their health. While international studies show deficits in medical care, there is still a lack of corresponding data for German-speaking countries.

BOTschafft Inklusion promoted access to the labor market for carers. An accessible AI-based chatbot had been developed as a prototype web application. It aimed to support the promotion and maintenance of caregivers' professional activities and their social participation.

INTIA (Inclusive technology ideas for everyday life) - this project was piloting participatory methods for the development of digital aids to help children and young people with special needs cope with everyday life.

 “Ecosystems for innovation in social work: cross-organizational and cross-sector perspectives” was a DITES research project tasked with theoretically and empirically exploring the perspectives and interests of different stakeholder groups in mediatized living and working environments for the targeted initiation of innovation processes as open innovation concepts in the context of social work in Germany.

Pflegeschätze - Discovering and passing on inventions and ideas from everyday life with children in need of care: Identifying, visualizing and transferring family innovations from everyday life with children in need of care.

The ZukunftsLabor (FutureLab) is an innovative collaboration between the City of Cologne and the Köln International School of Design (KISD). It serves as a flexible, experimental space where city employees and citizens co-create user-centered administrative solutions, with a strong emphasis on accessibility, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student involvement.

Science communication on TikTok

Establishment of a research network to promote the networking of scientists active on TikTok and to enable them to conduct science communication on TikTok themselves. Identification of best practices for science communication on TikTok, e.g. through the creation and publication of guidelines and recommendations for the scientific use of social media. Accompanied by an interdisciplinary teaching research project in Sose 2025, the results of which will be incorporated into the project.

DITES contributors: Prof. Dr. Amelie Duckwitz

ArchiLab

Teaching and learning platform for the collaborative development of software architecture - also as a basis for student projects, Bachelor's and Master's theses.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bente

BOTschafft Inclusion

BOTschafft Inklusion promotes access to the labor market for carers. An accessible AI-based chatbot is being developed as a prototype web application. It aims to support the promotion and maintenance of caregivers' professional activities and their social participation.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn

ELSI-by-Design in Agile Development of Digital Products

Integration of ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) directly into agile development processes in order to counteract negative effects during the development process.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bente

Design patterns for hybrid education

Development of a design pattern language to overcome barriers between analog and digital forms of learning - to promote collaborative learning processes.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls

Gamification of programming

Description: Playful access to programming through the use of games and interactive elements that make it easier to get started with coding.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls

Design of innovation spaces for co-creation

Description: Researching and setting up digitally supported innovation and collaboration spaces that enable new teaching and learning concepts.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls

MAEWIN - Machine decision support in welfare state institutions

Investigation of AI-supported decision-making processes in social institutions to optimize and legitimize decisions while respecting democratic principles.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Udo Seelmeyer

Modeling of social agents

Research into social agents - in collaboration with business partners - to improve the modeling of interactions in mediatized contexts.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Hans-Günter Lindner

Natural Hair Values. Identity formation with digitalization

Investigation of how digitization processes can contribute to the visualization and transformation of identity values (using the example of the “Natural Hair” movement).

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Hans-Günter Lindner

Pflegeschätze

Digitization and platforming of the experience knowledge of families who are active in informal care - to support and network new caregivers.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn

Step2EthiX

Development of digital applications to strengthen the ethical and moral reflection skills of people in decision-intensive professional contexts.

DITES - Participants: Prof. Dr. Carmen Kaminsky, Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls and Prof. Dr. Petra Werner

Future laboratories of the city of Cologne

Establishment of an innovative space with flexible furniture and future-oriented technologies that promotes agile working methods and cross-departmental collaboration between administration and citizens.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Birgit Mager, Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls

Seizing AI: Dynamic Seizing Capabilities in Emerging Technology Markets. The case of Artificial Intelligence Adoption by German Influencer Marketing Agencies"

Investigation into how agencies and service providers involved in influencer marketing can recognize, seize and adapt to the opportunities opened up by AI. The results show that the companies are in the early stages of seizing and pursuing a decentralized and agile approach with high flexibility in practical use cases that offer specific advantages for agencies as intermediaries in a highly competitive environment.

Project duration: 2024 - 2025

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Amelie Duckwitz

Strategic social media influencer communication in non-profit organizations

Investigation of how the processes in non-profit organizations differ from those in for-profit companies. The results showed that there are differences with regard to the special communicative requirements of NPOs, which require the specific design and weighting of the individual steps. The study also showed that the perspective of influencers as independent strategic actors deserves attention in further research.

Project duration: 2023 - 2024

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Amelie Duckwitz

Teaching project “Conception and development of AI influencers”

Teaching project in cooperation with the agency Styleranking GmbH, in which the students developed three AI-generated influencers and their social media profiles for real use cases. Among other things, the students work with LLMs, stable diffusion technologies, test technical limits and ethical challenges of AI and reflect on these in the development process.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Amelie Duckwitz

The Human Default: Modeling the human in the digital and social realm

Interdisciplinary publication that brings together different scientific perspectives on modeling human action in digital and social systems.

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Hans-Günter Lindner, Prof. Dr. Stefan Bente, Prof. Dr. Claus Richter, Prof. Dr. Babette Brinkmann, Prof. Dr. Amelie Duckwitz, Prof. Dr. Carmen Kaminsky, Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls, Prof. Dr. Petra Werner, Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn

INTIA - Inclusive technology ideas for everyday life

Development of inclusive technologies and digital modular systems to facilitate access to the digital world for people in educational and integration aids

Project duration: 01.05.2019 - 31.07.2023

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn, Prof. Dr. Stefan Bente, Prof. Birgit Mager and Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls

InTraHealth - Improving access to healthcare for intersex and transgender people

Development of a knowledge portal and an interactive web platform to raise awareness among professionals regarding healthcare for intersex and transgender people

Project duration: 01.09.2019 - 28.02.2023

DITES - Mitwirkende: Prof. Dr. Petra Werner, Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls

Ecosystems for innovation in social work

Theoretical and empirical analysis of innovation dynamics in social work - with a focus on open innovation concepts and stakeholder interests

Project duration: completed in 2023

DITES - Contributors: Baptiste Egelhaaf, Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn, Prof. Dr. Udo Seelmeyer

PAGAnInI - Personalized Augmented Guidance for the Autonomy of People with Intellectual Impairments

Development of an adaptive learning and training system to help people with disabilities achieve greater independence and safe mobility

Project duration: 01.09.2019 - 31.08.2023

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Udo Seelmeyer

Stationary telepresence counseling in rural areas (STellaR)

Expansion of existing infrastructures (e.g. in family centers) to include specially equipped rooms for video counseling to ensure counseling in rural areas as well.

Project duration: 01.09.2020 - 31.08.2024

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Udo Seelmeyer

Expansion and intensification of a flipped classroom concept through the ad-hoc presentation of work results and the use of innovative video formats

Expansion through innovative video formats to make teaching more flexible.

Projektlaufzeit: 01/2017–09/2018

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls

Digitalization of the finance function

Investigation of digitization in the financial sector by means of surveys & interviews.

Project duration: 01/10/2019 - 08/04/2020

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Hans-Günter Lindner

Digitization in non-profit organizations using the case study “Communication and information concept of the department of day care facilities for children of the Diözesan-Caritasverband für das Erzbistum Köln e.V

Investigation of digitization using the case study of the Diözesan-Caritasverband Köln.

Project duration: 2019

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Amelie Duckwitz

DUAL - Digital support for relatives and caregivers

Development of digital aids for the everyday life of dementia patients.

Project duration: 01.03.2018 - 31.08.2019

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bente

GeKo:mental

Digital services to promote the mental health of young people with and without a migration background.

Project duration: 01.01.2019 - 30.06.2021

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls and Prof. Dr. Petra Werner

Open educational space in the Gummersbach Forum

Public research & technology presentation in a shopping center.

Project duration: 01.04.2018 - 30.09.2018

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls

IDiT - Inclusion through digital media in vocational training

Promoting digital media skills for people with disabilities.

Project duration: 01.10.2018 - 30.09.2021

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn

Influencers in road safety communication: concept development and pilot application

Analyzing the potential of influencers for road safety campaigns.

Project duration: 01.05.2020 - 30.04.2021

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Amelie Duckwitz

Inclusive digitalization in higher education & social work

Development of inclusive digital education concepts.

Projektlaufzeit: 01/2017–12/2017

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn

Intervention program with smartphone app to combat school failure among young people with mental health problems in Cologne

Development of an app to support young people with school problems

Project duration: 01/2016 - 07/2019

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls

KI-TT: AI Talks & Teams

Development of a web magazine on AI through BarCamps & interactive formats.

Project duration: 01.04.2019 - 31.12.2019

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Amelie Duckwitz

merits - Early childhood media use and language learning with social robots to promote opportunities for participation in the digital society

Researching the role of social robots in early childhood language education.

Project duration: 01.01.2018 - 31.12.2022

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn

Models of the human being from an interdisciplinary perspective

Book project on the role of human models in digital technology development.

Project duration: 01.10.2019 - 01.06.2021

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Hans-Günter Lindner, Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn, Prof. Birgit Mager, Prof. Dr. Christian Kohls, Prof. Dr. Carmen Kaminsky, Prof. Dr. Babette Brinkmann, Prof. Dr. C

Process individualization through Digital Identity Tracker in workshops for people with disabilities

Analysis of digital identity solutions to optimize workshop processes for people with disabilities.

Project duration: 12/2016 - 02/2017

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Hans-Günter Lindner

Simulation service for housing and living arrangements

Development of simulation models for age-appropriate living

Project duration:10.12.2018 - 12.12.2020

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Hans-Günter Lindner

Strengthening the “S” in ESG

Development of social ESG criteria for better evaluation by investors

Project duration: 01.06.2020 - 01.04.2021

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Hans-Günter Lindner

Unbiased Bots That Build Bridges (U3B): Technical Systems that Support Deliberation and Diversity as a Chance for Political Discourse

Development of AI-supported systems to promote fair political discourse

Project duration: Duration not specified

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Udo Seelmeyer

How inclusive is “digital school” in COVID times from the perspective of school social workers?

A quantitative survey on inclusion opportunities and exclusion risks of digital school education from the perspective of social work

Project duration: 05/2021 - 12/2021

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn

Scientific monitoring and evaluation of the “Treffpunkt U25” project

Monitoring and evaluation of the “Treffpunkt U25” project, which supports hard-to-reach young people between the ages of 18 and 25 and guides them back into existing support services and vocational orientation measures.

Project duration: 2016 - 2018

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Udo Seelmeyer

Target group-oriented road safety communication via influencers in social media

Survey of the state of research and development of recommendations for action to address target groups in road safety communication via influencers

Project duration: Completed since 30.11.2019

DITES - Contributors: Prof. Dr. Amelie Duckwitz