Project state
closed
Project start
January 2024
Funding duration
18 months
Universities involved
UZH
Practice partners
Verein Parldigi
Funding amount DIZH
CHF 25'000
The core of the Digital MasterClass Canton Zurich consisted of five continuing education events for members of the Zurich Cantonal Council. The following events were held on site:
- June 2024: Digitalisation and data protection
- August 2024: Digitalisation in education – what works?
- October 2024: Cybersecurity needs more than just technology
- January 2025: Digital administration: what can it do, what is it allowed to do?
- March 2025: Digital healthcare? Current insights
An overview of the events, speakers and presentations can be found here and below.
Each event was attended by between 10 and 25 parliamentarians.
The first event, entitled ‘Digitalisation and Data Protection’, was held at the express request of the cantonal councillors in order to support the highly topical revision of the cantonal data protection law at the time.
Votes and motions
The Digital MasterClass led to several votes and motions in the Zurich Cantonal Council by participants in the individual events:
- Question from Gabriel Mäder (GLP, Adliswil), Nicola Yuste (SP, Zurich), Urs Wegmann (SVP, Neftenbach) concerning the use of artificial intelligence in taxation (24.02.25)
- Input from the Digital MasterClass was incorporated into the deliberations and votes in the Council on the motion ‘Protecting fundamental rights and privacy in public spaces’ (KR No. 329/2022).
- In her vote on AI in education, Cantonal Councillor Sonja Gehrig explicitly referred to the MasterClass. This can be read here in the minutes
In addition, according to members of the Cantonal Council’s Parliamentary Group on Digitalisation, input from MasterClass events was incorporated into the committee’s deliberations.
Feedback
A discussion at the end of the last MasterClass Zurich event showed that Zurich cantonal councillors are definitely interested in and need further MasterClasses. Several participants also said that they would welcome ad hoc events.
Overview of the events, speakers and presentations
Digitalization and Data Protection
June 10, 2024
The first event of the Digital MasterClass for the Zurich Cantonal Council is dedicated to the highly topical subject of the revision of the cantonal law on information and data protection (IDG). The presentation slides of the MasterClass «Digitalization and Data Protection» from June 10, 2024 can be downloaded here (PDF, 4 MB) (in German).
In his presentation, Prof. Florent Thouvenin from the Chair of Information and Communication Law at the University of Zurich spoke about the transparency of data processing by the state and the importance of regulating the use of personal data for research purposes.In a second presentation, Prof. Claudia Witt – from the Chair of Complementary and Integrative Medicine at the University of Zurich and co-director of the DSI – explained the specific handling of data in medical research and the importance of research data for the quality of healthcare.
Digitalization in education – what works?
August 19, 2024
The presentation slides of the MasterClass «Digitalization in education – what works?» from August 19, 2024 can be downloaded here (PDF, 7 MB) (in German).
Educational processes are becoming increasingly digital. This opens up new avenues, but also raises critical questions. How can students learn optimally with digital tools? What skills do teachers need to make digital education work? Does a digitalized education system impair the social relationships that are important for learning? And what security risks are associated with the increasing use of educational data?
The second Digital MasterClass for the Zurich Cantonal Council provided insightsinto current research on such questions. Kenneth Horvath from the PH Zurich examined the role of teachers, while Sascha Schneider from the University of Zurich looked on the role of students.
Cybersecurity needs more than just technology
October 21, 2024
The presentation slides of the MasterClass «Cybersecurity needs more than just technology» from October 21, 2024 can be downloaded here (PDF, 1 MB) (in German).
The goal of information security is to protect sensitive data and keep systems and data available. To do this, it uses various technical measures such as firewalls, authentication and encryption. In addition to the technical aspects, human factors play a crucial role in cyber security. In particular, it is the responsibility of management to empower and support their security officers and employees.
The third Digital MasterClass for the Zurich Cantonal Council showed that effective cybersecurity requires much more than just technology. With Dr. Ariane Trammell, head of the Information Security Research Group at the ZHAW and Dr. Melanie Knieps, cybersecurity researcher at the University of Zurich.
Digital administration: what can it do, what is it allowed to do?
January 20, 2025
The presentation slides of the MasterClass «Digital administration: what can it do, what is it allowed to do?» from January 20, 2025 can be downloaded here (PDF, 4 MB) (in German).
What is artificial intelligence? How does it work? And what influence do these functions have on society? In his talk, Abraham Bernstein from the University of Zurich uses examples to explained the key aspects of this influential technology and showed what it means for us.
Following this, Nadja Braun Binder from the University of Basel explained the key legal challenges associated with the use of artificial intelligence in the cantonal administration. She also used examples to highlight specific legislative needs and outlined how a process of norm screening can be used to identify further regulatory requirements.
Digital healthcare? Current insights
March 10, 2025
In his presentation, Michael Krauthammer shows how research at the University of Zurich is developing digital solutions for key challenges in healthcare – such as quality, costs and job satisfaction. He also presents two cantonal initiatives that sustainably strengthen research with health data in the Zurich area: «LOOP BMIP», a data platform for the University of Zurich Hospitals, and «Digital Health Zurich», an expert network for the implementation of digital solutions.
Digitalization in healthcare promotes innovation, but requires a needs-oriented, participatory approach. The design discipline plays a key role here: it designs products, experiences, services and processes and bridges disciplines. This results in customized, human-centered solutions for real challenges. Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken uses specific examples from the Digital Health Design Living Lab to show how these principles can be profitably implemented.
The Digital Society Initiative is organizing the Digital MasterClass for the Zurich Cantonal Council with the Parliamentary Group on Digitalization of the Zurich Cantonal Council. In addition to the DIZH innovation program, the event series was supported by Verein Parldigi and Stiftung Mercator Schweiz.