- Switzerland
Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH)
Profile
Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) is the region’s largest state university for applied research performing a wide range of lecturing and R&D activities, whose key competencies include (among others) digital government, digital democracy and e-participation, data governance, semantic web technologies, modelling and simulation of socio-technological ecosystems (e.g., trust infrastructure), and legal informatics. The Institute for Digital Technology Management (IDTM) hosts experts in digital responsibility that combine expertise from various disciplines (incl. computer science, management, law) to provide a holistic perspective on digitalization.
Projects
BFH has successfully carried out numerous collaborative research projects with industry and public administrations, and has played key roles in several European projects, e.g., as the technical lead of the currently active Erasmus+ Alliance for Innovation L2BGreen to develop an AI-driven multilingual agent for competence development in green entrepreneurship, as the leader of the banking pilot and the co-leader of the service design work package in the LSP STORK 2.0 coordinator in CPaaS.io, Fusepool, and Fusepool P3. All cited projects were in the BFH Business School.
Expertise
The Business School of BFH is renowned for its innovativeness and academic excellence. BFH regularly receives competitive funding from the Swiss National Science Fund (SNSF) and the EU to conduct basic research projects, while also nurturing a close relationship to the industry in the form of applied research projects that create societal impact in the region and beyond. Sustainability and responsible digitalization form a key part of the strategy of BFH Business school also exemplified by the recently launched study programs in Digital Business Administration and the transdisciplinary Master in Circular Innovation and Sustainability.
Key tasks
BFH will contribute with their strong scientific expertise in ethical and legal aspects of digitalization, taking the scientific leadership of the project as well as the lead for WP2 to develop the foundational conceptual framework and skill mapping for digital responsibility.
Team
Nikolaus Obwegeser
Scientific Manager / Researcher
Dr Nikolaus Obwegeser is Professor and Head of the Institute for Digital Technology Management at Bern University of Applied Sciences. As Scientific Manager for DIRECT, he provides leading expertise in digital responsibility, transformation and data-driven decision making. A member of national and international digitalisation committees, he channels industry-academia collaboration and ethical IT project management into the project’s outputs.
Marie Peskova
Researcher
Dr Marie Peskova is Professor and Head of the MSc in Digital Business Administration at Bern University of Applied Sciences and a researcher on DIRECT. Her work explores the synergies between sustainability and digitalisation, shaping business models that deliver simultaneous economic and environmental value. Peskova contributes expertise in sustainable strategy, digital business and higher-education programme design to the consortium.
Joëlle Simonet
Researcher
Joëlle Simonet is a research associate at Bern University of Applied Sciences and supports DIRECT as a digital-skills and security specialist. She investigates behavioural information security and the ways emerging technologies transform HR functions, and she manages BFH’s “Digital Skills Tutoring” programme. Simonet provides hands-on expertise in digital-skill development, secure work practices and the digitalisation of organisational processes.
Reinhard Riedl
Researcher
Dr Reinhard Riedl, Professor at Bern University of Applied Sciences, strengthens DIRECT with deep experience from EU projects on digitalisation in education, e-government and health. Trained in mathematics and formal methods, he drives research on digital trust, participation and process redesign. Riedl will shape the project’s evidence base for secure, inclusive digital education and data-driven public-service innovation.
