The Future is Digital
The digital transformation of our world is taking place – with or without us. The numerous opportunities for the economy and society, for our professional and private life must be explored and shaped from different perspectives. Artificial Intelligence, big data, Internet of things or smart factories are only a few keywords that keep getting more and more important in this context and that need to be examined for opportunities, risks and potential. By carrying out interdisciplinary research projects, the University of Mannheim helps prepare the leaders of the future for this new world.
With your help, the University of Mannheim Foundation can guide and support the university as its making its way into the digital age. Therefore, we have listed some important projects in the field of digitalization below. Feel free to contact us, if you would like to get involved in one of our projects – we’re happy to advise you.
Mannheim Center for Data Science: Big data for science
Large volumes of data (Big Data) and the processing of this flood of information pose completely new challenges for companies, the economy and society, but also for individual users. Making use of these mountains of data through data analysis and artificial Intelligence (AI) is particularly important for the examination of economic and sociological issues. For example, it can help predict customer behavior or better understand social developments.
Therefore, the interdisciplinary Mannheim Center for Data Science (MCDS) was established at the University of Mannheim. Activities in the field of data science are combined, in order to expand research on dealing with structured and unstructured data. The Mannheim Master in Data Science (MMDS) program trains students to be expert data scientists who are urgently needed in companies.Data literacy skills for middle-sized companies
The University of Mannheim and eight other higher education institutions in Baden-Württemberg are currently working together to develop new training courses and qualification programs on collecting, evaluating and using large amounts of data generated in companies. The new continuing education programs are specifically designed for medium-sized companies since data literacy skills and data science are becoming more and more important for them.
E-Learning
International competitiveness starts with the equipment of the rooms because in order to apply learning and teaching methods, students and teachers need adequate infrastructure.
Students benefit greatly, for example, in their day-to-day studies and when preparing for exams, if they can watch lectures online from home and revise them. In order to create and improve the necessary conditions it is essential that lecture halls be provided with video technologies. The university also needs an e-learning center and additional personnel to coordinate all the e-learning activities.
Data science is a link between artificial intelligence and quantitative research methods in economic and social sciences. This way, the center for data science strengthens the university’s core competencies. It helps to better use the potential of business informatics in other subjects and also better understand the social and economic effects of information technology.
The Mannheim Center for Data Science brings researchers from the fields of informatics, data science and social and behavioral studies together. The collaboration between these disciplines results in innovative research projects and methods. This is the only way to address important issues of our time. These include the optimization of resources such as parkings and mobility systems in order to conduct business sustainably as well as the impact of social media on diet and social consequences of decision algorithms.
Data are called “the oil of the digital age” and “new currency of the world economy” and already affect the value creation in companies or consumer behavior. By incorporating “big data”, Data Science can answer unresolved, important questions of our time that affect the economy and society. We established the MCDS to find these answers by drawing appropriately from several disciplines.