Data, Responsibility, and Scientific Practice: Data Management is More Than Compliance

The retreat opened with a session by Florina Piroi and Tomasz Miksa from the Center for Research Data Management at TU Wien. Their talk on Data Management Plans (DMPs) went beyond administrative requirement and illustrated that poor data management can undermine even the best research. Missing metadata, proprietary file formats, unclear licensing, or lack of documentation can make even valuable work unusable.

At its core, research data management is about:

• Reproducibility
• Transparency
• Long-term accessibility
• Ethical and legal responsibility

In the afternoon, we took the chance to visit Schloss Reichenau, where we have been guided through the exhibition by historian Friederike Griessler. Her research about the Semmering and its historical development as place of “Sommerfrische” lasts more than 30 years. She had many interesting insights about the construction of the Semmering Bahn and the pioneering of construction for public transportation.

Serious Games and Democratic Values

The evening session, led by Peter Purgathofer (TU Wien), shifted the perspective: from managing data to rethinking how we learn and reflect.

Under the title“Using non-digital games to enhance learning in interdisciplinary approaches,” the group explored how analog games can foster:

Creative and computational thinking,
Critical Thinking,
Responsible Thinking,
Policy Thinking.

Drawing on concepts like “Ways of Thinking in Informatics,” we experienced how game-based learning brings awareness to ethical tensions, conflicting values, and policy trade-off. Importantly, these were non-digital games — an intentional choice. In a doctoral school focused on digital humanism, stepping away from screens highlighted that technology is embedded in broader social, cultural, and political contexts.

The Vision that Technology Serves Society and Democratic Values

The second morning was dedicated to structured reflection with Florina and Tomasz about DMP. The Key questions in practical use remain the same, no matter the setting:  

• How solid is my methodology?
• Is my data strategy coherent?
• What ethical or legal risks might arise?

The after-noon session finally was the opportunity for the PhD candidates to discuss among themselves the set- up and organisation of their PhD Club and to start the election process for the representativs for the steering board of our college.

Digital Humanism calls for technology that serves society and democratic values. This retreat demonstrated that it starts in everyday research practices: how do we document decisions, how we engage with others, and how we reflect on our own assumptions. It comes down to the integration of three dimensions:

1. Technical competence (data management, FAIR principles, ..)
2. Ethical awareness (legal, societal, and political implications)
3. Reflective and creative methods (serious games / interdisciplinary dialogue)

The two days in Reichenau showed that doctoral education in Digital Humanism is not just about research but about shaping responsible and engaged researchers.

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Poster Presentation at EFPSA Congress 2026: “Breaking Boundaries – Uniting Minds Across Borders and Disciplines”

At the 40^th Congress of EFPSA 2026, Doris Avram from the Vienna Doctoral School on Digital Humanism presented her pilot study that bridges environmental science, human behavior, and digital innovation. Her research, “Navigating Urban Heat in Public Space,” examines how rising temperatures are reshaping the way people move through cities and how technology can support better adaptation.

In this interview, Doris explains how “Navigating Heat” as a research project is built and how to start with the pilot study coming up.

Cities across Europe are increasingly affected by extreme heat, turning everyday activities like walking into cognitively and physically demanding tasks. Avram’s work highlights a critical insight: heat influences not only comfort but also cognition, stress levels, and decision-making. Even without conscious discomfort, physiological signals such as heart rate and skin temperature can already indicate strain.

The study introduces an innovative field experiment combining wearable technology with environmental sensing. Participants are equipped with devices that track heart rate, heart rate variability, skin temperature, and movement, while portable sensors measure air temperature, humidity, and air quality. During a 20–30 minute wayfinding task in an unfamiliar urban setting, researchers observe how individuals navigate between shaded and sun-exposed areas.

What makes this approach particularly powerful is the synchronization of physiological, environmental, and behavioral data. This enables analysis of how thermal exposure affects route choices, pauses, efficiency, and perceived stress. The study expects that higher heat exposure leads to more shade-seeking behavior, less efficient navigation, and increased cognitive load.

Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines psychology, architecture, and computer science, the project aims to refine a methodology applicable to vulnerable groups, such as older adults. Ultimately, it will support the development of a “heat-aware” navigation tool that guides pedestrians along cooler, safer routes in real time.

Doris PhD project exemplifies digital humanism by placing human well-being at the center of technological innovation. It shows how data-driven insights can help create more livable, resilient cities.

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Artificial intelligence is changing the way we work and, with it, cultural creativity. This is also changing our understanding of creativity in a wide variety of disciplines. The WISH 2026 winter school, organised by Universität Augsburg and Technische Hochschule, discussed these interactions between technology, society and culture.

The first talk, held by Peter Knees (TU Wien), discussed the concept digital humanism. Digitalisation is much more than technical progress – it is a social task. Algorithms and AI systems now influence decisions in business, the media and everyday life. Therefore, their development must be considered not only from a technological perspective, but also from an ethical, social and political point of view. Digital humanism puts people at the centre: technologies should be designed in such a way that they strengthen democratic values, promote transparency and take social responsibility into account.

Peter Knees emphasised in particular the importance of education and critical reflection. Anyone working with AI should understand how these systems work, what data they use and what distortions can arise.

Participants at WISH2026 (March 3-7 2026) Speinshart Scientific Center, Germany

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Healthcare facilities are a form of social infrastructure where architecture, human behavior, and digital systems interact to shape wellbeing. The inspiring talk of Milica Vujovic, Associate Professor at Institute of Architectural Sciences, Unit of Digital Architecture and Planning, kicked off the start into our summer semester 2026. The conclusion: in truly human-centered environments, technology should not dominate the experience — it should quietly support it. 

The key is that the technology remains non-intrusive and largely invisible, preserving dignity and autonomy for residents.

Similar approaches can be found in newer dementia villages and psychiatric facilities across Northern Europe. Passive sensors, adaptive lighting systems that support circadian rhythms, and intelligent environmental controls allow caregivers to understand patterns of comfort, stress, and activity without turning patients into constantly monitored subjects.

In this sense, digital systems function less as interfaces and more as care infrastructure. They support staff, reduce cognitive load, and allow more time for meaningful human interaction.

“This approach reflects a core principle of Digital Humanism: technology should enhance human agency rather than replace it. Data is used to understand patterns over time, not to control individuals. The design focus remains on dignity, autonomy, and the lived experience of patients.”

Milica Vujovic

For researchers working at the intersection of architecture, technology, and society, this perspective opens an important question:

What if the most human-centered technology is the one we barely notice?

Digital Humanism does not always appear as software or algorithms. Sometimes, it is embedded in the spaces we inhabit — quietly shaping environments that support wellbeing, autonomy, and care.

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Starting into the Summer Semester 2026 with the Colloquium and Talk by Milica Vujovic, TU Wien

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At the topical debate “AI vs. Planet: Peril or Opportunity?”, Lena Pohlmann delivered a compelling and nuanced perspective on the environmental costs of artificial intelligence with her talk “AI design, planetary health”. Drawing on her interdisciplinary background in physics, philosophy of technology, and computer science, Lena outlined: 

AI is not immaterial — it is deeply embedded in planetary infrastructures. 

Her talk unpacked the entire lifecycle of AI systems, from rare mineral extraction and hardware manufacturing to data-center cooling and energy-intensive training, inference of AI models. With rapid growth projected as AI adoption accelerates, data centers will probably account for around 3% of global electricity consumption by 2030. Lena Pohlmann argued that there is lacking transparency by AI companies regarding those impacts

Lena presenting at the Central European University, January 2026

As a PhD candidate at the Vienna Doctoral College on Digital Humanism, Lena bridges technical analysis with societal inquiry. Her research examines not only the embodied and operational environmental impacts of AI, but also public awareness of these. By combining quantitative social science methods with qualitative interviews in communities near data centers, she will evaluate how environmental costs are unevenly distributed.

Importantly, the talk highlights future research directions for alternative sustainable AI systems. In her PhD project, Lena will analyze how users needs of AI can be met while decreasing environmental impact and how they can be supported to make more informed, sustainability-oriented AI choices.

“Responsible AI innovation is where sustainability is not an add-on, but a core design and governance challenge — and one that demands interdisciplinary solutions.“

About Lena Pohlmann

Lena Pohlmann has an interdisciplinary background with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, a Master’s degree in Philosophy of Technology from TU Berlin, and research experience in Computer Science. She is a PhD candidate at the Vienna Doctoral College on Digital Humanism with home institution University of Vienna, Political Communication Research Group.

The PhD Project “AI Innovation and Sustainability is supervised by Prof. Dr. Sophie Lecheler (Uni Wien), Prof. Dr. Hajo Boomgarden (Uni Wien) and Prof. Dr. Emanuel Salinger (TU Wien).

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PhD Project Description “AI Innovation and Sustainability”

Lena Pohlmann PhD Project Poster

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