How Good Software Design Can Drive Sustainability
As part of the Appointment Accelerator funding program of the Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft, Dr. Pooja Rani will take up a professorship in Informatics at the University of Mannheim starting in the spring semester 2026. Her research lies at the intersection of software engineering, sustainability, and artificial intelligence — aiming to design technologies that empower people to act responsibly.
Press release from 17 October 2025
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“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Pooja Rani, a distinguished researcher who combines technical excellence with societal relevance,” says Professor Claus Hertling, Dean of the School of Business Informatics and Mathematics. “With her interdisciplinary approach, she strengthens our school’s research profile in a key field for the future.” The successful appointment was made possible through the support of the Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft’s Appointment Accelerator program.
By providing financial resources, the program enables German universities to strengthen their negotiating position in appointment procedures and attract outstanding researchers from abroad.
A central theme in Rani’s research is how design decisions in software development can promote sustainability. For example, she investigates how user interfaces can be designed to make users aware of the energy consumption of digital processes — such as AI queries. “By making the resource use of digital technologies visible, we can empower people to engage with them more consciously,” Rani explains.
About Dr. Pooja Rani
Rani grew up in a small village in the Indian state of Haryana. At the age of 14, she left home to begin her education in computer science — an experience that sparked her long-term research interest. By 18, she was working full-time at Samsung while completing her bachelor’s degree in Informatics. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she left industry to pursue a master’s degree in software systems. Following her master’s degree, she returned to the tech sector, focusing on automation in software testing and development. In 2018, she began her doctoral studies at the University of Bern and has been working as a senior researcher at the University of Zurich since 2022.
“The University of Mannheim offers ideal conditions to connect research, sustainability, and software engineering,” says the 32-year-old researcher. “The infrastructure, the openness to new ideas, and the strong support from the school convinced me to make the move.”
Over the next five years, Rani plans to focus on key areas such as Green Software Engineering and the use of AI and natural language processing to automate software quality assurance.
About the Foundation
The Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft is a private foundation based in Berlin. Its mission is to strengthen Germany’s position as a center of science and research by supporting outstanding researchers at various stages of their academic careers.
Launched in 2024, the Appointment Accelerator program helps German universities expedite appointment procedures and attract international talent to professorships at an early stage.
www.wuebben-stiftung-wissenschaft.org
Contact:
Dr. Pooja Rani
Senior Researcher
University of Zurich
E-Mail: rani@ifi.uzh.ch
Yvonne Kaul
Research Communication
University of Mannheim
Phone: +49 621 181-1266
E-mail: kauluni-mannheim.de