Functions and consequences of artificial intelligence
in the science and higher education organization
Innovation analysis and transfer development
KIWIT is an interdisciplinary and inter-university research network.
Funded by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).
© 2025 NBS Northern Business School for KIWIT. Email: forschungsgruppe.kiwit[at]uol.de
One Year KIWIT
Data scientist Fynn-Frithjof Kraft is pursuing his Ph.D. at KIWIT, working in an interdisciplinary setting alongside other doctoral students. Photo: KIWIT
Ein Jahr KIWIT: Das Spezial
AI as an Interdisciplinary Adventure
Updated: 18 May 2026 | Reading Time: 9min | By: KIWIT Editorial Team
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Established by the BMFTR in the spring of 2025
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Experiences, progress, and what drives the group
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Powerful insights with a personal touch: A focus on doctoral candidates
The KIWIT research group combines social and organizational sciences with computer science to examine AI developments in the academic landscape through six subprojects over a period of up to eight years. An initial assessment: Interdisciplinarity is appealing and pays off—but it requires time, patience, and a willingness to explain and learn anew time and again.
In May 2025, KIWIT was launched as one of two selected collaborative research groups under the “Science and Higher Education Research” (WiHo) funding priority of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The team, comprising members from the Universities of Oldenburg and Bielefeld and the Northern Business School in Hamburg, brings together early-career researchers and professors from sociology, computer science, education, and the natural sciences—currently totaling 22 members, including associates, the research advisory board, and student staff.
“I believe that with this innovative mix of methods, we have been able to establish the right approaches to researching artificial intelligence in both research and teaching,” concludes KIWIT coordinator Heinke Röbken, who holds the Chair of Educational Management at the University of Oldenburg. Her colleague from Hamburg’s NBS, AI professor and subproject leader Ernst Reinking, focuses primarily on the rapid pace of technological development: “The first of the project’s four years was marked by the enormous dynamism in the AI field: new models, algorithms, and tools are appearing at ever-shorter intervals.”
Strukturen schaffen und den richtigen Rhythmus finden
The first year, however, was devoted primarily to intensive groundwork. “Establishing structures, finding the right rhythm,” as Heinke Röbken puts it. In an interdisciplinary collaborative project, processes must be streamlined, responsibilities clarified, and working methods coordinated.
In addition to the monthly group meeting, the KIWIT Briefing, an informal biweekly gathering of doctoral students (the doctoral student group) was established right from the start—initially as a way to get to know one another, but now serving as a space for ongoing exchange. Alena Klenke (Education and Social Sciences) is pursuing her doctorate in the Oldenburg subproject. A central question for her over the past few months has been “where my place is in this field and which research questions I can and would like to address.”
The fact that this question is not trivial is also due to the unique nature of the project. There is no doubt that the interdisciplinary collaboration between educational researchers, sociologists, and computer scientists is a major asset—but it is by no means a given. It requires embracing entirely different ways of thinking.
“What’s unique here is that there are so many situations where the other person has to elaborate further so that you can follow their line of thought. That’s exactly how you learn a lot,” says Fynn-Frithjof Kraft, a Ph.D. student in computer science (Data Science) at NBS. “You come across topics and theories you may never have thought about before.”
When disciplines collide
After just a few weeks of training, you quickly become so deeply immersed in the subject matter that others can barely keep up. People often describe this as “adventurous”—a sentiment frequently expressed—which is typical of the doctoral dissertations that form the focus of the research group. This depth becomes apparent during group meetings: much of the discussion must be conducted at a higher level. This does not imply a lack of competence, but rather the need to reconcile different terminologies, styles, and perspectives.
“One finding from research on the success of such projects is that not all members need to understand everything in detail,” comments Marcel Schütz, professor of organization and subproject leader, “but rather that they keep each other informed about the key points of overlap and make available the knowledge that is valuable or necessary for the broadest possible, holistic understanding.”
Ph.D. candidate Dennis Düllmann (sociology) also values the “ongoing exchange of experiences during his doctoral studies—not least for his own self-management.” The challenge: maintaining academic depth without sacrificing clarity. Interdisciplinarity sounds great on paper. But it requires a great deal of dedication, time, and investment. Otherwise, people drift apart and each group puts its own interests first. “Whether it’s networking events, seminars, or our podcast—it all runs under one brand. And sure, there are times when things get ‘really heated’—but where isn’t that the case?” asks coordinator Röbken.
Eindrücke und Einschätzungen der KIWIT-Doktoranden, -Studierenden und Assozierten in der Galerie (klicken/schieben)
The KIWIT research group—including the project director, project assistants, doctoral candidates, staff, the scientific advisory board, and associates (Photos: Private/KIWIT)
“I find personal interaction to be a great asset. It allows me to gain insights into other ways of thinking and broaden my own horizons. For the future, I hope that this exchange and understanding will lead to joint projects.” – Ph.D. candidate Alena Klenke (Photo: UOL)
The research group’s communication formats: science, technology, knowledge transfer, and interdisciplinarity. Research networking and public science take place on an ongoing basis across various channels, both analog and digital.
The KIWIT research group—including the project director, project assistants, doctoral candidates, staff, the scientific advisory board, and associates (Photos: Private/KIWIT)
The “classic AI enthusiast.”
Fynn is an active member of the Hamburg Fencing Club. In his free time, in addition to sports, he enjoys landscape photography and DIY projects—all without using AI.
The Physicist.
In his free time, Phillipp does improv theater. His thesis focused on the physics of sailing. Alongside his doctoral studies, he finds balance through bouldering.
The Sociologist.
Dennis is from the Sauerland region—and naturally loves mountains, forests, and snow. When he wasn’t organizing sales for a brewery startup while he was in school, he wrote his two theses on bridge collapses and plane crashes.
On closer inspection, however, despite all the diversity, there are also similarities between quite different disciplines: “Over the past year, I’ve been delving deeply into the historical development of AI. You could say that the field of AI research is just as multiparadigmatic as the social sciences,” says Phillipp Krüger (Physics and Mathematics), who is pursuing his doctorate in the Oldenburg subproject. His colleague in Bielefeld, Bernd Eckstein (Sociology), says the exchange “also helped me demystify the topic of artificial intelligence in some respects and sharpen the sociological perspective on the application of these machines.”
Von Tools zu Kompetenzen
A particular tension characterizes the work: research projects are, by their very nature, slower than technological development. This is especially true for the subject matter of KIWIT. New AI tools and model optimizations are appearing at ever-shorter intervals. At times, it feels as though we have to tear down what we’ve just built every week. This is because the AI tools originally planned have already been replaced several times by more powerful ones — further changes are to be expected and are methodically factored into our plans.
AI expert Ernst Reinking is nevertheless very satisfied: “During this phase, the team working on the computer science subproject has evolved into a highly effective working group that continuously monitors, analyzes, and tests these developments — and is thus operating at the cutting edge of technology.”
The scope of the project has expanded. One of the starting points was the question: Which AI tools can be used in teaching and research? This has given rise to a broader perspective: What skills should universities teach as AI becomes central to academia and the workplace? As a result, the project has gained significance in the context of higher education and education policy.
What does the leadership team think about the work done in the first year? – Statements from Oldenburg, Bielefeld, and Hamburg in the gallery (click/swipe)
KIWIT Coordinator Prof. Dr. Heinke Röbken (Project Lead, University of Oldenburg): “Through interdisciplinary collaboration and a spirit of innovation, we are strengthening research in economics and business administration. I think we can already take a little pride in our achievements after just one year.” (Photo: UOL)
Prof. Dr. Stefan Kühl (Project Leader, Bielefeld University): “My favorite part is the AI Research Class. Every week we discuss a text, often with the author joining the discussion. We have researchers and practitioners from all over Germany, representing various universities and companies.” (Photo: Brand Eins)
The research group’s communication formats: science, technology, knowledge transfer, and interdisciplinarity. Research networking and public science take place on an ongoing basis across various channels, both analog and digital.
KIWIT Coordinator Prof. Dr. Heinke Röbken (Project Lead, University of Oldenburg): “Through interdisciplinary collaboration and a spirit of innovation, we are strengthening research in economics and business administration. I think we can already take a little pride in our achievements after just one year.” (Photo: UOL)
“Our project management must be tailored to the breadth of our content—in our workflows, topic selection, and communication formats. Public science is a top priority for us. We want to offer high-quality information formats and reach broader groups of interested parties from knowledge-intensive areas of the AI and working world as well as the education sector,” emphasizes Marcel Schütz, who is responsible for the development and planning of the KIWIT network.
Accordingly, the group is focusing on robust project communication to strengthen knowledge transfer beyond the research itself—for example, by continuously expanding its website into an information portal and leveraging LinkedIn as a key networking channel. The research group’s work has already been featured in various specialized media outlets, including the journal *Forschung & Lehre*, *Focus*, *Der Tagesspiegel*, and the well-known education and higher education news portal Wiarda-Blog.
“The project’s public profile is particularly noteworthy and quite exceptional for a third-party-funded project,” says Friedrich Stratmann, who has extensive experience in the field of higher education. The former director of the HIS Institute for Higher Education Development in Hanover is an associate researcher with the group. “The Research Class, which I attend regularly, is also a very effective format for the project thanks to its openness and high standard.”
Expanding horizons, aligning perspectives
This seminar on digitalization and artificial intelligence is held weekly, is open to the public, and, since it is conducted online, attracts a fairly large audience. It is often attended by established authors, researchers, and practitioners from universities and companies. From all over the country—and beyond. Most recently, the sociologist Elena Esposito, who is currently conducting research at Stanford and serves as a scientific advisor to the group, participated.
Numerous guests from the fields of science, technology, and culture have already appeared on the KIWIT Group’s programs—here is a selection (click/swipe)
Sociologist Gesa Lindemann – on February 2, 2026, in the Research Class
AI pioneer and neurobiologist Christoph von der Malsburg – on the KInote podcast on August 8, 2025
Walter Baco on piano – The Viennese composer provides the musical accompaniment for the KInote podcast.
Sociologist Gesa Lindemann – on February 2, 2026, in the Research Class
The science podcast KInote regularly features fascinating guests who develop, research, and write about AI. Past guests have included AI pioneer Christoph von der Malsburg, Berlin-based writer and computer scientist Michael Wildenhain (A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence, Klett-Cotta 2024), and Würzburg-based space researcher Hakan Kayal.
With its new series, “KI Kontexte” and “Promotion Persönlich” the group is stepping up its communications efforts: special features highlighting R&D departments at major companies and the PhD candidates involved in the project as individuals with their own stories, experiences, and goals.
KIWIT was represented at various meetings and conferences in the fields of economics and artificial intelligence. Phillipp Krüger attended an intensive course on agent-based modeling at the United Nations University Maastricht. Alena Klenke participated in the ESRA conference on new data methods and the use of AI in survey research at Utrecht University. At NBS, Ernst Reinking’s team presented AI developments for university teaching. Consortium coordinator Heinke Röbken presented KIWIT at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth. Together with the Center for Lifelong Learning (C3L), the group is discussing its work this week at a conference on science and higher education management at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences.
One of the highlights of last year was undoubtedly the networking event organized by the WiHo funding program, in collaboration with the BMFTR and the project management agency VDI/VDE. The presentations are available on the website and on YouTube. We highly recommend Rudolf Stichweh’s keynote address on interdisciplinary research and publishing (see video below).
Justus Donovan Bösch is currently writing his thesis in the research group—and manages the project’s social media and website. “Our public outreach highlights the multifaceted nature of perspectives on AI. Everything is represented, from the technical aspects of how it works to sociological considerations. At the same time, it’s a challenge to convey this complexity to the public.”
This challenge will remain in the coming years. The group has big plans for the future: video content, summer schools, workshops, conferences, and, of course, a steady stream of publications in academic journals and popular science magazines. As Heinke Röbken put it: “Perhaps we can say that we can look back with a little bit of pride on the work we’ve done so far.”
Contact the research group:
Manuela Eiben (Project Assistant)
Email