Zwei Tage mit inspirierenden Vorträgen, kreativen Workshops und dynamischem Austausch liegen hinter dem Zukunftslabor Wasser: Vertreter*innen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis tauschten sich intensiv über die Forschung und den Forschungstransfer im Wassersektor aus.

Digitale Lösungen für ein intelligentes und zukunftsfähiges Wassermanagement: Daran forscht das Zukunftslabor Wasser des Zentrums für digitale Innovationen Niedersachsen (ZDIN). Gemeinsam mit Partnern aus der Wasserwirtschaft untersuchen die Wissenschaftler*innen die Potenziale der Digitalisierung für einen nachhaltigen Umgang mit Wasser. Zu den Praxispartnern zählen regionale Wasserversorger, Behörden und öffentliche Institutionen, Verbände und Interessenvertretungen sowie Technologieunternehmen aus der Wasserwirtschaft. Am 07. und 08.05.2025 trafen sich die Wissenschaftler*innen des Zukunftslabors mit Vertreter*innen aus der Praxis, um über die Forschung im Zukunftslabor zu diskutieren und die Zusammenarbeit zu vertiefen. Insgesamt nahmen ca. 50 Vertreter*innen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis an diesem Vernetzungstreffen teil, das in den ecos workspaces in Oldenburg stattfand. Prof. Dr. Jorge Marx Gómez, Sprecher des Zukunftslabors, eröffnete die Veranstaltung:

„Wasser ist ein essenzielles Thema, vor allen für das Küstenland Niedersachsen. Wir benötigen innovative Lösungen, um den aktuellen Herausforderungen von Wasserknappheit auf der einen Seite und Überschwemmungen auf der anderen Seite effizient begegnen zu können. Deshalb ist die gemeinsame Forschung von Wissenschaft und Praxis so wichtig. Diese Zusammenarbeit wollen wir gezielt fördern – mit diesem Vernetzungstreffen und mit neuen Transferprojekten, die vor kurzen am ZDIN gestartet sind.”

On June 25, our former project group GENIUS successfully defended its title at the 10th annual boules tournament for project groups from the Department of Computer Science. The team “KI Kugel Könige” won the exciting final against the team “Throw them Bouls” from the current project group SPARK (also VLBA, research cooperation TaDeA) and thus successfully defended the title from the previous year. Third place went to the OLDIES.  If they win again next year, the team should keep the challenge cup forever. The VLBA department would like to congratulate both project groups on their success and thank Dr.-Ing. Dietrich Boles for organizing the anniversary tournament.

Die 14. BUIS-Tage 2025, die vom 5. bis 6. Juni 2025 im ecos work spaces in Oldenburg stattfanden und den Fokus auf den Einsatz von betrieblichen Umweltinformationssystemen in smarten und nachhaltigen Infrastrukturen richteten, zeigten den Umgang mit Umweltinformationen in einer immer stärker digitalisierten Welt auf.

Mit über 60 Teilnehmern mit 32 akzeptierten Vorträgen zu den Themen Umweltschonung, Nachhaltigkeit und Energieeffizienz im Kontext etablierter oder zukünftiger Infrastrukturen wird deutlich, dass sich Wissenschaft und Praxis den Herausforderungen stellen. Wir freuen uns über die positiven Rückmeldungen aus der Community, die zeigen, dass eine solche Konferenz gerne als Kontakt- und Diskussionsforum zum Austausch genutzt wird.

Wir freuen uns auch über die Unterstützung aus der Praxis bei drei Best-Awards sowie dem Feedback der Konferenzbesucher bei der Abstimmung über die Awards. Die Auszeichnung wird unterstützt vom Zentrum für digitale Innovationen Niedersachsen (ZDIN) und dem Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischen Wasserverband (OOWV).

Best Paper Award der 14. BUIS-Tage 2025

Timothy Musharu und Jorge Marx Gómez

Beitrag: „AI and Open Data for GBV Prevention Among Youth: Ethical Governance and Policy Frameworks in the EU“

Beim Best Student Paper Award wurde aufgrund der Qualität und der Rückmeldungen aus der Community eine doppelte Vergabe vorgenommen.

Best Student Paper Award der 14. BUIS-Tage 2025:

Timmy Schwarz, Yannick Elias Gerling und Jürgen Knies

Beitrag: „Bürgerschaftliche Potenziale: Akteursidentifikation und -aktivierung in der Wärmewende – Aktualisierung der Sinus-Milieus® für Bremen“

Hannes Kath, Thiago S. Gouvêa und Daniel Sonntag

Beitrag: „A Look Under the Hood of the Xprize Rainforest Competition System“

Wir bedanken uns bei allen Unterstützern und Sponsoren. Ohne Sie wäre eine solche Konferenz nicht möglich. Wir würden uns freuen, Sie auch bei den kommenden BUIS-Tagen zu treffen und Ihre Ideen mit Ihnen zu diskutieren.

BUIS-Tage 2025, Orga-Team

Organisationsteam

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jorge Marx Gómez
Universität Oldenburg

Prof. Dr. Volker Wohlgemuth
Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin

Dr.-Ing. Alexandra Pehlken
OFFIS e.V. – Institut für Informatik

Malena Ripken
Center for Transformations and Sustainable Futures

Ali Akyol
Universität Oldenburg

Dr.-Ing. Volkan Gizli
Universität Oldenburg

Barbara Rapp
Universität Oldenburg

Dr.-Ing. Andreas Solsbach
Universität Oldenburg

Sie erreichen uns per E-Mail unter: [email protected]

Der Best Paper Award der BUIS-Tage 2025 für innovative Forschung im Bereich Digitalisierung und Transfer wird vom ZDIN – Zentrum für digitale Innovationen Niedersachsen gesponsert.

Wir bedanken uns für die Unterstützung bei der worldiety GmbH, ecco ecology + communication Unternehmensberatung GmbH, BTC Business Technology Consulting AG, OFFIS e.V., abat AG, embeteco GmbH & Co. KG und Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischer Wasserverband.

On 15 May, participants of the HEI-Blue Erasmus+ project gathered at the Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA) for a day of inspiring presentations and immersive learning. The group explored SMA’s academic programmes and gained valuable insights into the Academy’s pivotal role in advancing the blue economy in Seychelles.

Following the presentations, the delegation visited the Seychelles Fishing Authority’s aquaculture facility and the Anse à la Mouche project, funded by SeyCCAT and UNDP. These visits showcased innovative approaches to sustainable agriculture and marine resource management—key drivers of the thriving blue economy.

Through these hands-on experiences, the Training of Trainers participants broadened their understanding of the blue economy’s wide-ranging impact beyond professional centres, emphasizing its interconnectedness across multiple sectors.

The project partners look forward to building on the successes of the HEI-Blue Erasmus+ initiative as it fosters innovation and sustainability throughout the Indian Ocean region.

The project "HEI-Blue" is an Erasmus-funded initiative aimed at strengthening higher education institutions (HEIs) in sustainability and innovation, particularly within the blue economy sector. It seeks to foster international collaboration, enhance research capabilities, and develop practical solutions for environmental challenges. Apart from the academia, represented by 7 South-West Indian Ocean and 3 European universities, the consortium also brings together 2 macro-regional actors from key industry and decision-making bodies. University of Oldenburg is one of the European partners, with the implementation being carried out by VLBA.

The Interreg North Sea project DISCO (DIgital Solutions for Climate Adaptation) gathered for the second project meeting from 22.04.2025 to 24.04.2025, this time in Oldenburg. The participating institutions - including municipalities, research institutions and water boards - from Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands were also present. During the three days at the Jade University of Applied Sciences, the partners exchanged views on the research projects in the field of climate adaptation in various workshops. In addition to the five pilot projects, important topics included the digital innovation capacity of cities and municipalities, the involvement of citizens through digital means and the dissemination of DISCO results. An excursion also gave the project partners an insight into water management in Oldenburg.

The VLBA is participating in DISCO as a research and development partner together with the OOWV, the Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischer Wasserverband, to develop a digital twin for a rainwater retention basin. This will be used to control the retention basin in future, e.g. to actively use collected rainwater for irrigation instead of allowing it to seep away.

On April 10, 2025, the GENIUS project group presented its project results at a public university event. The one-hour presentation offered comprehensive insight into the functionalities of the digital assistant developed.

The students began by demonstrating the system's core functions and proceeded to explore more specialized areas of application. A particular focus was placed on the innovative evaluation concept, which enables flexible evaluation of the RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) application and its individual components. This concept serves as a central instrument for ensuring a high response quality of the digital assistant in a business context.

The project group expressed its special thanks to the practice partner abat AG, on whose example the system was developed.

The 2^nd consortium meeting for sustainability and technical workshop for Open Web Search (OWS) project held between 26^th to 28^th march 2025 at Passau the project under the Horizon 2020. Under the direction of Prof. Jorge Marx Gomez project who is project coordinator for 3^rd party call project NORDLINK , the project mitarbeiter MSc. Khurram Shehzad took participate in person and MSc Sreedhar via online video link. 

With respect to the last consortium meeting which held in November 2024 in which project NORDLINK under the supervision of Prof. Jorge Marx Gomez took part for the very first, the initial idea of project NORDLINK shared. This time MSc Khurram Shehzad presented the recent ongoing work which is to integrate the Universität Oldenburg locally available Data storage infrastructure and computing resources under project group VLBA of Prof. Jorge Marx Gomez with the OWS infrastructure in order to have locally available infrastructure for the purpose of education and research.

In this meeting sustainability workshop also took place to discuss the scope of OWS project as a sustainable project with long term partnerships with all the project partners. On 28^th march the technical workshop took place in which details of infrastructure provided under project NORDLINK presented and discussed with other project partner how to use NORDLINK infrastructure for their workflows in the coming months for OWS project.

After three years of empowering young professionals with digital expertise, the Digital Skills for an Innovative East African Industry (dSkills@EA) project is set to conclude on March 31, 2025. A collaborative effort between the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), with support from the German government, the initiative has been a driving force in enhancing digital capabilities across the East African Community (EAC). The University of Oldenburg represented by the Department of Business Information Systems (VLBA) served as the Academic Coordinator for dSkills@EA and its predecessor project CENIT@EA.

Through dSkills@EA, over 4,000 young East Africans have gained essential digital skills, strengthening connections between academia and industry. More than 100 universities and 300 private sector partners have contributed to this thriving ecosystem, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. The program has directly impacted individuals like Rebecca from Tanzania, who supports agricultural advancements; Keith from Uganda, who developed a stroke detection tool; and Malek from South Sudan, who established an ICT school to equip future generations.

Among its many success stories, Ivan Koojo, a graduate of the program, now works on Africa’s first electric bus in Uganda. “This initiative has transformed lives. The investment in digital education is paying off, and we are applying our knowledge in meaningful ways,” he shared.

The project has also strengthened academic programs, particularly the MSc in Embedded and Mobile Systems at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST). With 164 students enrolled, 124 scholarships granted, and a 90% employment rate among graduates, the initiative has established a strong foundation for the region’s digital future. Notably, 20% of graduates now teach at universities, passing on their expertise.

The success of dSkills@EA reflects the strength of regional collaboration, with contributions from EAC institutions, NM-AIST, the German Academic Exchange Service, the University of Oldenburg, and industry partners. As the project ends, its legacy will continue to shape the digital landscape of East Africa.

From March 24th to March 28th, a workshop on Workpackage 2 was held at the University in Genova as part of the KPI4HE project. The workshop aimed to elaborate on the findings discussed by project partners from Armenia, Italy (genau), and Dresden during their meeting in Oldenburg in September, and to translate these insights into defined work packages.

Key Details

• Dates: March 24th – March 28th
• Location: University in Genova
• Topic: Workpackage 2 in the KPI4HE project
• Previous Meeting: Project partners from Armenia, Italy, and Dresden met in Oldenburg in September.

During the workshop, detailed analyses and strategic planning sessions were conducted. Participants contributed specialized knowledge that supported a systematic development of the project objectives. The interdisciplinary and international cooperation facilitated a structured and practical approach to the subject areas.

Outlook

The results obtained during the workshop form the basis for the next phases of the KPI4HE project. Continued collaboration among the international partners is considered a key factor for the further advancement of the project.

Am 2. April 2025 startete an der Universität Oldenburg offiziell die Master-Projektgruppe „SPARK – Wissensmanagementsystem mit Large Language Models im Kontext der Steuerverwaltung“ mit einem feierlichen Kick-Off-Event. Im Mittelpunkt des Projekts steht die Nutzung von Large Language Models (LLM) – der Schlüsseltechnologie hinter modernen KI-Chatbots wie ChatGPT – zur Optimierung des Wissensmanagements in der Steuerverwaltung. Zum Teilnehmerkreis der Auftaktveranstaltung gehörten zwölf engagierte Masterstudierende, das betreuende Team aus der Abteilung VLBA (Very Large Business Applications) sowie Gäste des Praxispartners Landesamt für Steuern Niedersachsen, mit dem die Projektgruppe eng zusammenarbeitet. Ziel des Projekts ist die Entwicklung einer intelligenten Anwendung, die verstreute Informationsquellen („Informationsinseln“) zu einer zentralen, strukturierten Wissensbasis zusammenführt. Auf dieser Grundlage sollen kontextbezogene Fragestellungen mithilfe von LLM effizient und präzise beantwortet werden können. Die Projektgruppe läuft über einen Zeitraum von zwölf Monaten und orientiert sich an den Abläufen realer IT-Projekte. Die Studierenden übernehmen dabei die Rolle eines Projektteams und bearbeiten praxisnahe Aufgaben im Rahmen einer simulierten Auftraggeber- Auftragnehmer-Beziehung. Neben der technischen Umsetzung stehen Themen wie Teamorganisation, agiles Projektmanagement und die Entwicklung innovativer Lösungsansätze im Fokus. Die erarbeiteten Ergebnisse leisten einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Forschungskooperation „Tax Defense Analytics“ zwischen dem Landesamt für Steuern Niedersachsen und der VLBA- Abteilung der Universität Oldenburg. Mit viel Motivation und Neugier blicken die Studierenden auf die kommenden Projektphasen und freuen sich darauf, das Vorhaben in den nächsten Monaten mit Leben zu füllen.

On March 27, 2025, the GENIUS project group shared its exciting final results on the integration of generative AI into business processes at abat in Bremen. The event was a wonderful example of how academic research can lead to practical applications.

At the heart of the project is an innovative digital assistant that uses both commonly available and company-specific data, all in compliance with data protection guidelines. The implemented RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) technology ensures that even complicated queries about internal documents or company guidelines can be answered precisely. In their final presentation, the students not only addressed the technical architecture — from data connections and vectorization models to large language models — but also placed particular emphasis on practical effectiveness. They talked about how AI agents are used in the real world, how to make ranking procedures more effective, and security ideas to make it easy to integrate it into the systems we already have.

Everyone was really interested, the exchange was lively, and it was clear that everyone was excited about the topic. If you're interested in the project and want to learn more about using generative AI in a corporate context, you're welcome to attend the final university presentation of the project group on Thursday, April 10, 2025:

Time: 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Room: V03 0-D002 at the University of Oldenburg.

Once again this year, you have the chance to put your data analysis skills to the test! We cordially invite you to the Data Challenge 2025 - this time in cooperation with abat AG. Take on an exciting challenge and work on it as part of a two-week block course during the lecture-free period.

In addition to ECTS, there is also something to win! Our cooperation partner will award the best three teams with a total of €2000 in prize money, which will be divided between places 1-3. Take the opportunity to gain valuable practical experience, network with other students and win attractive prizes!

You will receive all the details about the process at our information event. 

When? 15.04.2025, 1:00 pm

Where? A04 3-319 (meeting room of the VLBA) or online for participants of Emden University of Applied Sciences

We look forward to your participation!

On January 28^th, our successful Multiplier Event titled "The Ethical Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in the Education of Adolescents" took place online. Over 100 interested participants attended the event, where we presented the results of our Work Package 2, "Ethics and Policy."

This event was part of the EU project AI@Smile under the Erasmus+ program. It provided a platform for discussing the ethical challenges and policies surrounding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the education of adolescents. During the event, renowned experts from various partner universities shared their research findings and analyses:

• “Desk research on the application of Artificial Intelligence in education”
  Ethical guidelines on the use of AI and data in teaching and learning for educators
  Manuel Torrecillas Martínez, Universidad de Alicante
• “Ethical and legal aspects of gathering sensitive data from minors to apply in AI tools”
  A Focus Group Report
  Giovanni Zorra, BIRA
• “Development of an Ethical dossier based on the findings of Activity 1 and 2 per each country of the partner universities”
  Dr. Uglješa Stankov, University of Novi Sad

The presentations sparked intense discussions and provided participants with valuable insights into the ethical and legal frameworks for implementing AI in educational contexts. Special emphasis was placed on the need for clear ethical guidelines, the protection of minors' sensitive data, and country-specific challenges in implementing AI-powered educational tools.

We sincerely thank all the speakers and participants for the engaging discussions and valuable exchanges. The insights from this event will contribute to the further developments of our project and help in creating ethically grounded solutions for the use of AI in education.

This meeting marked the official start of the Erasmus+ program, and it was a significant milestone for the project.

The event was attended by 12 official project partners from across Europe, representing a diverse group from Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, France, Italy, Serbia, and Germany. The collaborative interactions between these partners were truly fruitful, and we had meaningful discussions about the direction and goals of the project.

The project officially began on November 1st, 2024, and is set to run for three years, concluding on October 31st, 2027. We are proud to have University of Oldenburg as the coordinator for this initiative, with Prof. Dr. Jorge Marx Gómez leading the project as the coordinator. He expressed his excitement and commitment to being a part of this impactful project.