At the end of 2024, the Department of Information Systems was well represented at ICIS 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand by numerous PhD students, postdocs, and professors. ICIS – The International Conference on Information Systems – is one of the world’s leading conferences for information systems, bringing together researchers from around the globe to discuss the latest research findings.

During the conference, many of our researchers had the opportunity to present their work in workshops, paper sessions, and teaching cases:

- Dr. Lea Püchel participated in a paper development workshop, attended the SIG Grounded Theory Method and presented the teaching case ‘Developing Digital Sustainability Skills through the Grunenfeld Microgrid Project?’ in a paper session, on which she worked with Prof. Tobias Brandt and Tao Yue (https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2024/learnandiscurricula/learnandiscurricul...).

- Matthias Werner presented the paper ‘Riding Two Horses at The Same Time: Paradox Responses for Navigating Exploration and Exploitation in Small and Medium-Sized IT Consulting Firms’, which was co-athored by Dr. Jan Stockhinger, Prof. Stefan Klein and Prof. Dragos Vieru (https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2024/general_is/general_is/13/)

- Dr. Sebastian Reiners presented the DSR Academy (https://dsr-academy.org) in a TREO Talk with his team (Dr. Michael Gau, Gregor Kipping, Fabian Tingelhoff, Prof. Jan vom Brocke, Prof. Tuure Tuunanen, Prof. Jan Marco Leimeister).

- Shariga Sivanthan presented her current research at the pre-ICIS workshops and was Docoral Student Co-Chair at the ICIS 2024.

- Gregor Kipping presented the paper ‘Towards a Reference Model for Designing Micro-Credentials in Higher Education’ as part of the session ‘Methods and Techniques for Impacting Learning Outcomes’ (https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2024/learnandiscurricula/learnandiscurricula/8/). Together with Dr. Michael Gau and Prof. Jan vom Brocke, Gregor explored ways to support higher education organisations in the adoption, design, and communication of just and inclusive micro-credentials.

- Miriam Möllers presented the two papers co-authored with Prof. Benedikt Berger: ‘Machine Learning as a Second Opinion: Understanding Cross-Departmental Differences Through Technological Frames’ and ‘Seeking Augmentation of Knowledge Work through Machine Learning: A Case Study in the Field of Financial Planning’ (https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2024/digtech_fow/digtech_fow/24/).

- Prof. Benedikt Berger participated as a mentor in a Faculty Roundtable of the Doctoral Student Corner.

 

The Department of Information Systems has elected Prof. Jan vom Brocke as its new Managing Director effective 1 January 2025. He succeeds Prof. Jörg Becker, who served as Managing Director for 30 years until now.

In June 2023 Jan vom Brocke was appointed Professor and Chair of Information Systems and Business Process Management.

He studied Information Systems at the University of Münster and completed his doctorate under Prof. Dr. Heinz Lothar Grob. Following his habilitation at the School of Business and Economics, he held the Hilti Chair of Business Process Management and was Director of the Institute of Information Systems at the University of Liechtenstein. During this time, he and his team were also associated partners in the ERCIS network, contributing to numerous collaborative research projects, publications, teaching events and conferences. Today, he is Director at the ERCIS - European Research Center for Information System.

He is also recognised internationally as a highly respected researcher in the field of Information Systems, particularly in the area of Business Process Management. He regularly publishes in leading journals at A and A+ level as well as in outlets of the Financial Times Top 50 Journal List and independent international rankings consistently place Jan vom Brocke in top positions in both Information Systems and Economics. Additionally, he brings valuable teaching experience from prestigious international business schools.

We warmly welcome Prof. Jan vom Brocke to his new role and look forward to the continued success of our department under his leadership. At the same time, we would like to thank Prof. Jörg Becker most sincerely for his outstanding achievements and successful leadership of the department over the past three decades.

 

The DFG research group " Future Digital Towns " has reached the halfway point of its first funding phase – the perfect time for an interim review! Two weeks ago, the group gathered to reflect on the progress of its six sub-projects during an inspiring workshop held in the idyllic setting of the Rothenberge country house.

The intense discussions between the principle investigators and team members focused on the current state of research and the connections between the sub-projects. Particularly stimulating was the collaborative work on the central research framework, based on the capability approach by Sen, which provides a common theoretical foundation to all sub-projects.

But the group’s focus extended beyond the present. With great commitment, they also laid the groundwork for the future. A key topic was the preparation of the extension proposal for a second funding phase, with the goal of taking medium-sized city research to the next level and opening up new perspectives.

After two intensive days of productive discussions and creative inspiration, the group returned with fresh ideas and a clear vision. The unique atmosphere of the country house not only facilitated their work but also strengthened the group's cohesion. A powerful step forward – for the research group and for the field of mid-sized towns research as a whole!

Further information about the research group can be found here.

Letizia Tschetsche has joined the team of the Junior Professorship for Digital Transformation and Society as a research assistant on November 1, 2024.

Ms. Tschetsche completed a master's degree in “Psychology - Human Performance in Socio-Technical Systems” at the Technical University Dresden. In the coming years, she will continue to do research on issues related to humans at work as part of her doctoral thesis. Her research will focus on the use of (generative) artificial intelligence in organizational development and its impact on structures, processes and culture, as well as on the employees themselves and their cooperation.

Her interest in this topic stems from her previous research activities: She has already investigated the use of digital technologies in healthcare through a systematic literature review, as well as the use of explainable artificial intelligence in fault diagnosis in a simulated computer experiment.

We wish her the very best and are looking forward to working together!

Collaboration between the Chair for Transformation of Work, the Junior Professorship for Digital Transformation and Society and BASF Coatings

As part of the project seminar “Future Mobility Lab,” students presented their interim results on an exciting and practice-oriented topic: the use of Generative AI (GenAI) for crisis management in the mobility sector. The seminar is a collaboration with Transdev – a company within the Rethmann Group and the second-largest rail and bus operator in Germany – and aims to develop an innovative dashboard and a bot to support employees in critical situations.

The project focuses on providing tools that enable informed and faster decision-making in scenarios such as rail accidents, severe weather events, or acute staff shortages caused by sudden illnesses. The students offered detailed insights into their workflow, the underlying software architecture, and the data structure. They also explained how various Large Language Models (LLMs) were evaluated to select the best models for the specific use case.

A highlight of the interim presentation was the live demonstration of a working prototype. The showcased dashboard visualizes trains in real time, displays their locations and current issues, and integrates an interactive bot. This bot is already capable of accessing a local database and offers concrete suggestions to resolve issues, such as addressing staff shortages due to unexpected absences.

In the next phase of the project, the bot will be linked with live data to enable automated and informed decision-making. This functionality is expected to further optimize crisis management and significantly enhance operational response in real-world situations.

The project impressively demonstrates how GenAI technologies can create innovative solutions for the mobility sector while simultaneously fostering the practical education of students.

The lecture "Introduction to Information Systems" at the Department of Information Systems offers first-semester students a comprehensive introduction to this exciting field of study. In each session, all professors and junior professors of the department present their respective areas of expertise, covering a wide range of topics.

After an introduction to the organizational details and the scientific thinking of information systems experts at the University of Münster, participants gain in-depth insights into fundamental concepts such as process, object, and organizational modeling.

A special highlight of the lecture is a panel discussion with successful alumni of the program. This year, Nina Herrmann, Fabian Müller, Sina Nordlohne, Marvin Teus, and Yannick Verhoeven shared their professional experiences and impressively explained how they applied the knowledge they gained during their studies in practice. Their current roles range from research as postdoctoral researchers at the University of Münster to positions at renowned companies such as the d.velop Group, viadee, zeb, and the Provinzial Insurance.

In addition to inspiring insights into their career paths, the alumni provided students with valuable tips and tricks – especially for internships – that can serve as a springboard for a successful career launch. The event once again highlighted how versatile and future-oriented information systems is.

Each year, the Assocciation for Information Systems (AIS) selects six international doctoral students to receive the AIS Entrepreneurial Innovation Fellowship. We are delighted to announce that Shariga Sivanathan, PhD student and staff member at Prof. Tobias Brandt's Chair of Digital Innovation and the Public Sector, has been named one of the Entrepreneurial Innovation Fellowship Students for 2025.

The AIS Entrepreneurial Innovation Fellowship (EIF) programme, funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, aims to enhance entrepreneurship-focused research worldwide. The programme focuses on entrepreneurial perspectives in information systems research and plays a pivotal role in advancing the field. The cohort members were selected based on the scientific and practical contributions of their research to the field of information systems.

Congratulations to Shariga on this outstanding achievement!

Are you passionate about exploring the challenges of digital transformation? Would you like to investigate how digital technologies – especially Artificial Intelligence (AI) – are reshaping society, organizations, and individual lives? Then this opportunity is for you!

The Junior Professorship for Digital Transformation and Society in the Department of Information Systems at the University of Münster invites applications for a full-time position as Doctoral Research Associate (E 13 TV-L, 100%), starting on April 1, 2025. The position is initially limited to three years and includes the opportunity to pursue a PhD.

What we offer:

• A dynamic role in a research team dedicated to studying the societal and organizational impacts of digital technologies.
• Exciting research opportunities at the intersection of technology, society, and innovation, leveraging qualitative and quantitative empirical methods.
• Membership in the European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS), an international network of researchers and practitioners in information systems.
• An inspiring academic environment with teaching responsibilities (4 contact hours per week) and exciting research projects at a leading information systems department in Germany.

Join our team and contribute to shaping the digital transformation! Applications can be submitted until December 20, 2024. More information about the position and the application process can be found here.

From 15 to 17 November 2024, students Lars Heimann, Maja Kirschnick, Theresa Hilp, Jonathan Grundmann and Lena Schleupen from the University of Münster's School of Business and Economics participated in the German American Conference (GAC) at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA. The GAC is a largest student-led conference in northern America and has been held annually since 2008. It brings together American and German thought leaders from business, politics and academia with talented students to strengthen transatlantic cooperation.

This year's motto was ‘Hard Conversations’. Our students heard keynotes on the role of the German constitution from Prof. Dr. Stephan Harbarth, President of the Federal Constitutional Court, discussed the Republican perspective on the US election results with Thomas E. Price, M.D., former US Secretary of Health and Human Services, and learned from Dr. Andrej Levin, Partner at the Boston Consulting Group, how companies generate value through AI. Finally, the transatlantic relations were celebrated over the rooftops of Boston in the spectacular The View. Dr. Thomas Haskamp, associated researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), also gave a tour of the MIT, including a visit to the famous MIT Media Lab.

The European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS) organised and financially supported the trip for all students of the School of Business and Economics. Special thanks go to Prof. Jan vom Brocke, Dr. Thomas Haskamp, Dr. Armin Stein and Dr. Michael Räckers for making the conference possible.

On 3 December 2024, this year's JobHub IT, the IT career fair for students, took place in the castlesfoyer in Münster. All students from IT-related degree programmes, regardless of the number of semesters they have completed so far, were invited to find out about possible internships, final theses in cooperation with companies or positions for a career start. Companies represented included AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG, LVM Versicherung, Sopra Steria Custom Software and Solutions GmbH.

We look back on an inspiring career fair and would like to thank the Institute for Applied Computer Science and Prof. Dr. Benjamin Risse for organizing it!

The IT career fair for students

This year, the Teaching Prize was once again awarded by the Business and Economics Student Council (Fachschaft Wirtschaftswissenschaften), which rewards lecturers in the School of Business and Economics for their outstanding teaching achievements. Students have influence on the choice of award winners through the teaching evaluations.

This year, the Teaching Prize was awarded to two professors from the Department of Information Systems: one to Prof. Christian Grimme for the course ‘System Analysis and Decision Making’ and one to Prof. Fabian Gieseke for the course ‘Data Analytics 2’. The prize was presented at the graduation ceremony last Friday.

Students, turn your AI and entrepreneurship interests into real-world experience! The CURATE Incubator Programme offers BA and MA students the opportunity to earn 5 ECTS while solving business challenges using AI and design thinking in an international setting.

Key information

The CURATE Incubator Programme, organized by the University of Münster in collaboration with the CURATE project partners across Europe, provides an exciting opportunity to develop viable business solutions to challenges provided by partner companies. Participants will combine AI tools with entrepreneurial processes in a dynamic learning environment that encourages multidisciplinary skills in digital and virtual spaces.

• Application Deadline: February 7th, 2025
• Duration: February 2025 - Autumn 2025
• Format: Hybrid (online + on-site bootcamps in Slovakia and Germany)
• Cost: Free (travel & accommodation covered for selected participants)
• Credits: 5 ECTS

Programme Structure

• Two hybrid bootcamps at Technical University of Koŝice (Slovakia) and at University of Münster (Germany). The bootcamps will be held in April 2025 and in Autumn 2025.
• A Virtual learning period with coaching from April to August 2025.
• Hands-on work with partner companies.
• Focus on AI tools and entrepreneurial processes.

What You'll Learn

• Design thinking and AI implementation
• Business modeling and market analysis
• Entrepreneurial skills and startup finance
• Challenge-based learning
• Cross-cultural teamwork

Eligibility

• Current Bachelor's or Master's student at the University of Münster
• Strong academic record
• Submission of a motivation letter is required
• A total of 15 students will be selected from the University of Münster

Don't miss this opportunity to develop your entrepreneurial mindset, tackle real-world challenges, and collaborate with students from Ulysseus partner universities in a global setting.

Apply here before February 7, 2025.

If you have any questions about the application process or general questions about the Curate Incubator programme, please contact Shariga Sivanathan.

Last Friday, Dr. Raimund Vogl delivered his inaugural lecture following his appointment as Honorary Professor in May of this year. Dr. Raimund Vogl has been head of the Center for Information Technology (CIT) at the University of Münster since 2007 and was appointed CIO of the University of Münster in 2017. He has been teaching the ‘Project Management’ lecture at the Department for Information Systems since summer semester of 2019, where he effectively conveys the success factors of project management to students, drawing from his extensive practical experience.

At the beginning of the lecture, the Dean of the School of Business and Economics, Prof. Thomas Langer, introduced the new honorary professor. Raimund Vogle expressed his sincere gartitude to the Dean and Prof. Jörg Becker for their support. In his lecture, he discussed the history of the CIT and its current projects, and explained how the CIT can support research at the University of Münster. Finally, a champagne reception rounded off the successful lecture.

On 15th November 2024, Lea Püchel and Sebastian Reiners took part in a workshop on digital transformation and work, which was jointly organised and hosted by Joschka Hüllmann (University of Twente) and Laurent Wauters-Herlyn (Westfalen AG).

Together, they discussed the digital transformation of work with the help of impulses from science and business. One particular point in this discussion was Germany's largest experiment on the 4-day week by Prof Dr Julia Backmann (University of Münster, Chair for the Transformation of the World of Work). The two participants also had the opportunity to visit the filling plants.

As every year in November, Münster's universities invited students to the University Day last week.

Around 10,000 prospective students took the opportunity to get an overview of the degree programmes offered by Münster's universities. Teachers and their school classes were invited, as well as private individuals with questions about studying.

The School of Business  and Economics offered a varied programme that gave prospective students an insight into the four fields of study: business administration, economics, information systems and interdisciplinary business studies.

In addition to a brief presentation of the Information Systems degree programme, Prof. Tobias Brandt (Chair of Digital Innovation and the Public Sector) gave a lecture on the topic of ‘Innovation in the blood? How tech start-ups are shaping the world of tomorrow - studying business informatics at university’. In addition, Nina Herrmann and Jan Pauls (Chair of Machine Learning and Data Engineering of Prof Fabian Gieseke) spoke about ‘Machine Learning and Big Data: Building and applying algorithms’.

 

In mid-October, 150 first-semester students in the ‘Introduction to Information Systems’ course participated in an excursion to BASF Coatings.

During the excursion, the students were able to gain behind the scenes insights at BASF Coatings and learn which topics of the Information Systems programme are relevant in a global manufacturing company. The students explored the career prospects available to them after graduation and what they can do with their knowledge in the future.

 

On 24 October 2024, the project seminar ‘Retrieval Augmented Generation at the City of Krefeld’ had its kick-off at REACH, where seven students will be working together this semester.

The aim is to integrate documents from the decentralised and separate wikis and transform the intranet into an AI-supported knowledge management system. The Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) system will be used for this, which allows context-related answers that take into account data from the organisation that is not available to public GenAIs.

The students will consider the topic holistically, i. e. from technical, organisational and legal perspectives, and develop a prototype during the semester. They will be supported by staff from both the city of Krefeld and the DIPS department.

The ‘Eduplay Hub’ project seminar started at Provinzial-Versicherung at the beginning of October, in which nine Bachelor of Business Informatics students are participating this winter semester.

The students gain an insight into the (digital) work of a large insurance company and can work on a real business case on the topic of further and continuing education. They will take their first steps in IT project management, front-end and back-end development, stakeholder communication, and many other areas.

In addition, the students have the opportunity to network with professionals from the insurance industry and make valuable contacts.

Congratulations to Prof. Dr. Friedrich Chasin!

Friedrich Chasin took up a professorship in Information Systems at Hochschule Offenburg on 1 November 2024. Friedrich has been a research assistant at Professor Becker's chair since October 2013 - he previously supported us as an assistant. After completing his doctorate, he remained with the chair as a postdoc and habilitation candidate, interrupted by 2.5 years from April 2021 to September 2023, during which he held a professorship at the University of Cologne.

As a highly esteemed and valuable colleague, we are reluctant to let Friedrich go but are, of course, delighted that he has succeeded in obtaining this position and wish him all the best in his new role.

Have you ever conversed with a voice assistant like Google’s Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri? Most probably yes. Have you ever purchased something using a voice assistant? Most likely not. Many marketers and voice assistant providers expected and wanted voice commerce to become a new sales channel, but these hopes hardly materialized. Therefore, Dr. Christine Rzepka, Anton Koslow, and Prof. Dr. Thomas Hess from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and Prof. Dr. Benedikt Berger from the Department of Information Systems at the University of Münster investigated why consumers use or don’t use voice assistants for shopping. In a mixed-methods research design, the author team first interviewed 30 voice assistant users to identify perceived benefits and risks of voice commerce. Afterwards, they conducted a survey to validate these determinants of consumers’ shopping behavior. The results show that voice commmerce, while being convenient and enjoying, is hampered by a lack of reliability, transparency, and controllability. Accordingly, the most promising avenue for a wider diffusion of voice commerce is to enrich the interaction with visual displays as showcased by some smart speakers with screens (i.e., smart displays).

In 2023, the results of this study appeared in the journal The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, which is published by the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group on Management Information Systems (SIGMIS) and one of the most long-established journals in the information systems discipline. The journal’s editorial board now selected this study for the best paper award for that year.

 

Links to this news

Here you can find the Link to the journal article.

Here you can find the front matter of the issue including the article.

You can find the awards page of the ACM SIGMIS here.

The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems honors a study co-authored by Prof. Dr. Benedikt Berger