Invitation Kick-Off Vienna Doctoral College on Digital Humanism

Author: Anna Kuprian

🗓 November 19, 2025 | 🕙 10:00–16:00 | 📍 Vienna

Registration for this event is now closed.

You are kindly invited to join the official Kick-off of the 

Vienna Doctoral College on Digital Humanism.

We look forward to sharing with you the development of our college with its interdisciplinary research focus. The event is open to all with an interest in Digital Humanism, including researchers, students, policy-makers, and members of the public. Special guests will include representatives from the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF), the City of Vienna, and leadership from TU Wien, University of Vienna, and WU Vienna.

‘The “Digital Humanism” doctoral programme is more than just a research programme – it is an investment in the future of our society.’ *
Veronica Kaup-Hasler, Executive City Councillor Cultural Affairs and Science, City of Vienna

Wednesday, 19th of November 2025

09:30h – 16:00h

Urania Sternwarte / Dachgeschoss, Uraniastraße 1, 1010 Vienna

Agenda

9:30 – 10:00      Arrival & Welcome Coffee        

10:00 – 10:50    Welcome & Opening Remarks            

  • Veronica Kaup-Hasler, City of Vienna (Stadt Wien) to be confirmed
  • Michael Strassnig (Deputy Managing Director WWTF)
  • Peter Ertl (Vice-Rector of Research, Innovation and International Affairs, TU Wien)
  • Manuela Baccarini (Vice Rector for Research and International Affairs, University of Vienna)
  • Bernadette Kamleitner (Vice Rector for Research and Third Mission, WU Vienna)

10:50 – 11:15    Introduction to the Vienna Doctoral College on Digital Humanism

Interdisciplinarity and transfer of methods: How we are shaping a responsible, digital future  

  • Peter Knees (TU Wien) 
  • Sophie Lecheler (University of Vienna)
  • Marta Sabou (WU Vienna) 
  • Jan Maly (WU Vienna)

11:15 – 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 – 12:30    Interview-Spotlight on PhD Projects: What, why, how. 

Interdisciplinarity in research practice 

  • PhD Students presenting their projects

12:30 – 14:00    Lunch & Networking

14:00 – 15:00    Keynote + Discussion: Digital Humanism in Action** 

Digital Humanism calls for a rethinking of our relationship with technology, knowledge, and society. But what does this mean in concrete research practice: in the everyday work of a new generation of scholars?

  • Katja Mayer (University of Vienna)

15:00 – 16:00h               Closing Remarks, Networking, Coffee + Gugelhupf

** Key Note Digital Humanism in Action
Digital Humanism calls for a rethinking of our relationship with technology, knowledge, and society. But what does this mean in concrete research practice: in the everyday work of a new generation of scholars?

This keynote will respond to the themes and questions emerging from the morning session, exploring where we currently see the most promising opportunities, exemplary initiatives, and open spaces for action within Digital Humanism. It will also reflect on the critical challenges we face: how to sustain interdisciplinarity beyond rhetoric, how to balance openness with responsibility, and how to translate values such as democracy, justice, and participation into the design and governance of digital systems especially in times of extreme politics, polarization, and the pervasive experiences of doom and gloom that shape our collective imagination.

Rather than offering fixed answers, this talk aims to invite collective reflection on how Digital Humanism can evolve as a living practice; one that not only studies but also shapes the conditions for a responsible digital future.

Dr Katja Mayer is Senior Scientist at the Centre for Social Innovation ZSI and a sociologist at the STS department of the University of Vienna. She works at the intersection of science, technology, and society. Since 2019, she has focused on the politics of open science and open data in the context of computational social sciences and AI.

*Verbatim: Media Release published by the City of Vienna and WWTF on October, 28th, 2024: „Digitaler Humanismus: Neues Doktoratskolleg an drei Wiener Unis startet“

Registration is now closed.
We look forward to officially kicking off the DigHum Doctoral College with you!