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Upcoming Events


TALK: The Digital Alma Mater – Community, Academic Culture, and Innovation at German UDS

By: Julia von Thienen

How can a digital university recreate the deep sense of community, scholarship, and personal growth that has characterized the best physical universities for centuries? At German UDS, we believe the answer lies in reimagining, rather than replicating, analogue university traditions. Inspired by the enduring ideals of Humboldt’s University - a community of scholars and learners, the integration of research and education, and the cultivation of personal development (Bildung) - we are unveiling new paths for academic life in the digital age. German UDS is building a vibrant and resonant online experience, where community spirit, creativity, and critical inquiry flourish beyond the walls of a physical campus. Initiatives like Welcome Weeks, alongside institutions such as the Colleges for Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship, embody our commitment to fostering authentic relationships, individual as well as collective growth, and a living university culture - extending Humboldt’s university vision into the digital realm. This talk invites you to explore the research that reveals the unique challenges of forging deep human connections in fully online environments, and to discover the innovative solutions we are developing to break new ground in designing and facilitating a living online university culture, spirit, and academic life. 

  • When: June 16, 2025
  • Where: OMiLAB-Berlin
  • Format: Invited Talk
  • Context: CoDEMO Innovation Event

 

TALK: Exploring the Rhythms of Mind: Music, Sleep, and Creativity at the Crossroads of Science and Innovation

By: Julia von Thienen

The interplay between music, brain dynamics, and human experience is an emerging frontier rich with scientific promise and practical potential. This talk explores how music and sleep intersect with creativity, team bonding, and cognitive performance – an inherently interdisciplinary inquiry bridging neuroscience, computer science, musicology, sleep research, and innovation studies.

The presentation begins by introducing design thinking as an approach to innovation, and neurodesign as its area of specialization emphasizing neuroscientific perspectives on the phenomena under study. Both music and sleep have been long-standing topics of research in this context, particularly in relation to creativity. Music is commonly used to influence brain dynamics and mental states, especially during active creative work. Different types of music support different stages of the creative process, each requiring distinct cognitive mindsets. While many stages benefit from elevated EEG alpha activity, additional cognitive demands vary depending on the specific tasks involved.

In addition, music is used to enhance bonding within creative teams, particularly through rhythmic elements that induce psychophysiological synchrony, helping teams align and operate on a shared wavelength – an effect well-documented in our field. Sleep, dreams, mind-wandering, and transitional states between wakefulness and sleep have also been explored, highlighting phenomena of relaxation versus muscle tension and stress, mental imagery, and creativity.

Drawing on insights from both academic research and applied projects in neurodesign and the broader academic literature, this session underscores how research findings can be integrated into practical, artistic, and functional innovation. 

  • When: July 3, 2025
  • Where: Freie Universität Berlin
  • Format: Invited Talk
  • Context: European research network https://lullabyte.eu/ with interdisciplinary projects across musicology, neuroscience, psychology and computer science

 

TALK: European Governance of Education Innovation and its Challenges – Two Case Studies

By: Julia von Thienen, Mike Friedrichsen & Christoph Meinel

This talk highlights the pivotal role of governance – through regulation and administration – in shaping educational innovation within the European Higher Education Area. After outlining frameworks for innovation governance and common areas of tension, it presents two case studies.
The first case focuses on the founding of the German University of Digital Science (German UDS), an innovative, fully online university in Germany. It illustrates how seemingly minor delays in formal review processes can pose serious challenges to institutional sustainability, for example, when significant intervals between state-level review board meetings leave key decisions pending for months.
The second case examines the development of an innovative joint European Master's program in Cybersecurity Management and Data Sovereignty under the Digital4Security (D4S) initiative, which brings together expertise from thirteen universities across nine European countries. While European policy aims to support such initiatives – and accreditation approaches like the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes have been introduced – the case study illustrates significant implementation hurdles. In particular, national-level misalignments and regulatory inertia continue to obstruct its use.
The talk identifies and illustrates three structural dilemmas: (1) Accreditation Speed vs. Pan-European Inclusion, (2) Online Education vs. Freedom to Determine the Coordinating Institution, and (3) Educational Responsibility vs. Program Attractiveness. The talk concludes by underscoring the need for stronger alignment between European ideals and national practices in supporting innovation within European Higher Education, and offers concrete action points for various stakeholders to foster digitally enabled innovation in Europe's educational landscape. 

  • When: Sept 6-9, 2025
  • Where: Bolzano, Italy
  • Format: Peer-Reviewed Conference Contribution
  • Context: 9th MIC Conference on Founding Creativity Studies

  

TALK: Community-Building, Academic Culture, and Innovation in Fully Online University Education – The Example of German UDS

By: Julia von Thienen, Christoph Meinel, Mike Friedrichsen, Steven Ney

The digital transformation allows many experiences and services once rooted in face-to-face interaction to move into the digital realm, exposing unprecedented possibilities, including for higher education. Fully online institutions like the newly founded German University of Digital Science (German UDS) can significantly broaden global access to knowledge, welcoming students from across continents, including the Global South. This connectivity not only empowers traditionally underrepresented communities, but also cultivates a far greater diversity of perspectives than localized institutions typically allow. The resulting plurality of expertise and the scale of global participation enhance opportunities for innovation and large-scale collaborative project work.
Yet, alongside these compelling advantages lies a central challenge: Creating authentic human experiences and fostering deep personal connections, which tend to arise more naturally in face-to-face settings. How, then, can a digital university cultivate the sense of community, scholarly engagement, and personal growth that have long defined leading campus-based institutions – and that form a relevant basis for creative and collaborative endeavours?

German UDS seeks to pioneer answers to this question, not by replicating analogue traditions, but by reimagining them. Inspired by Humboldt’s university model - emphasizing a scholarly community, the integration of research and teaching, and the cultivation of the whole person (Bildung) - the talk explores how such ideals can be meaningfully reinterpreted for the digital age. Initiatives like Welcome Weeks and institutional hubs such as the Colleges for Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship are designed to foster genuine relationships, support individual and collective development, and cultivate a vibrant academic culture beyond physical campus walls. Overall, this talk invites you to examine research that highlights the specific challenges of building deep human connections in fully online environments, with attention to implications for creativity and innovation. It also introduces emerging strategies and institutional innovations aimed at shaping a deeply meaningful online education experience. 

  • When: Sept 6-9, 2025
  • Where: Bolzano, Italy
  • Format: Peer-Reviewed Conference Contribution
  • Context: 9th MIC Conference on Founding Creativity Studies

 

 

SYMPOSIUM at the Sibiu Innovation Days: Title and abstract to follow

  • When: 6.-7. November, 2025
  • Where: Sibiu, Romania