EDS Bulletin Board

Doctoral Prize of the Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine for Christina Ehras

Christina Ehras received the Doctoral Prize of the Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine for her dissertation titled "Perspectives on Good Instructional Explanations in Biology Education – Complexity as a Didactic Challenge". The award was presented on July 10, 2024, on the occasion of the Day of Biosciences at the University of Regensburg by the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. Witzgall. It is awarded once a year for outstanding doctoral theses.

Image: Presentation of the award by Prof. Dr. Witzgall (right) to Christina Ehras (center) with her supervisor Prof. Dr. Dittmer (left)

Poster Presentation by Miriam Schirmer at the "Women in Data Science Regensburg" Conference

In which areas do internationally renowned companies like Google, DeepMind, Infineon, bulwiengesa, or Deepset AI apply machine learning and data science? What are Bavarian universities and institutes like the Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) at TU Munich or the DLR researching? In Regensburg, "Women in Data Science" has been providing answers to these questions for four years now. The conference continues to grow: This year, seven speakers, nearly 20 poster presenters, and around 150 participants used the conference at the Jahnstadion as a platform for a technically sound exchange between academia, industry, and young researchers.

"Women in Data Science" sets an example for diversity in STEM professions. The conference was originally initiated by a professor from Stanford. She had noticed that almost exclusively male speakers were seen on stage at conferences, particularly in the field of data science – but not women. While only women present at WiDS conferences, all genders are explicitly welcome as participants. More information at: www.wids-regensburg.de/

Dr. Katharina Sailer Foundation Prize for Maria Hofrichter (former Gürtner)

Maria Hofrichter (former Gürtner) has received the Dr. Katharina Sailer Foundation Prize from the University of Regensburg for her dissertation "New and Old Women: Intergenerationality and Contested Spaces in New Woman and (Anti-)Suffrage Writing". This prize is awarded annually to recognize and promote outstanding academic achievements in the field of English Studies. The award was presented to her on February 9, 2024, during the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Languages, Literature, and Cultural Studies. Congratulations!

Bavarian Cultural Prize 2023 for Dr. Mario Frei

To the delight of the Faculty of Human Sciences and the Chair of Educational Data Science, Dr. Mario Frei receives the Bavarian Cultural Prize 2023 for his dissertation "Explaining in Music Education. A Study on Quality Characteristics". The doctoral process took place at the University of Augsburg (Chair of Music Education, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hofmann) and was co-supervised by Prof. Dr. Sven Hilbert. The award ceremony took place on November 16, 2023 in Munich. We extend our heartfelt congratulations!

Voice Training for Teachers via App

A radio report by the BR Campus Magazine on the ReSt project: https://br.de/s/6QYHDbt

Lisa Keller wins the phaeno Science Slam

In September 2023, the phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg hosted a Science Slam (a scientific short presentation competition focusing on entertaining science communication). Lisa Keller's presentation about her doctoral research, titled "Pop-up Education: Social Engineering and Security Awareness – The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," was selected by the audience as the best presentation. Lisa Keller is a research associate at the Chair of Social Informatics at the Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences (THWS) and at the Chair of Educational Data Science at the University of Regensburg (UR). She is pursuing her doctorate within the framework of the cooperative BayWISS joint doctoral program and is supervised by Prof. Dr. Nicholas Müller (THWS) and Prof. Dr. Sven Hilbert (UR). The phaeno Science Center (https://www.phaeno.de/) is a socially engaged science museum where visitors can experiment and experience scientific phenomena first-hand. The phaeno Science Theater regularly hosts informative events around the topic of science, including Science Talks and Science Slams.

Jonas Hauck at "Pint of Science" in Regensburg

From May 22nd to 24th, the internationally renowned science festival "Pint of Science" took place in Regensburg, where scientists presented their research to a broad audience in a relaxed atmosphere in pubs. The aim was to convey complex scientific findings in an understandable way and make them accessible to a diverse audience.

In this inspiring setting, our colleague Jonas Hauck gave a presentation on May 22nd at the Degginger on the topic "The Power of Data Traces: How Tracking Data is Revolutionizing Educational Research". Despite the beautiful weather, the talk was very well attended. The content focused on how tracking data generated during learning on platforms can provide valuable insights into learners' behavior, their learning patterns, and difficulties. By using this data, it is possible to objectively measure learning behavior without relying on subjective self-reports from respondents.

The presentation is related to the ongoing research project "Regensburg Voice Training" at the University of Regensburg, which is developing an app for teachers' vocal health. The aim of the research project is to capture the app's influence on teachers' vocal health and their experience of stress. Through the analysis of tracking data, objective statements can be made about, for example, the duration of app usage and other relevant parameters.

For more information about the international science festival "Pint of Science", please visit the website pintofscience.de. Additionally, you can learn more about the "Regensburg Voice Training" research project on the website go.ur.de/rest.