Digital technologies open up new opportunities to make living, working and educational spaces more sustainable, efficient and connected. Three newly approved projects demonstrate concrete approaches to how these potentials can be harnessed. In the fourth Rapid Action Call, DIZH is supporting three projects. The call for proposals, titled “Smart Spaces:… Read More »Smart Spaces: Three new projects
Gender-based violence (GBV) often goes unrecognised by those affected. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are increasingly shaping how individuals come to understand and name their experiences. A recent study from Nimra Ahmed and her team explored how awareness content influences recognition and help-seeking. Using surveys and interviews, the… Read More »Social Media and the Journey Toward Help-Seeking in GBV Contexts
During a crisis, a flood of uncoordinated digital tools from government, NGOs, and volunteers often creates more confusion than clarity. This phenomenon is examined in a new paper, referred to as the “solution trap.” Drawing on a two-year case study of the digital response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis in… Read More »Mind the “GaaP”: Identifying and Solving Solution Traps in Crises
Making sustainability measurable The global loss of biodiversity and the increasing water scarcity are among the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. This is where PanGeo Nature Risk GmbH comes in: Using scientifically grounded analyses of spatial environmental footprints and linking them to corporate locations, the team assesses how… Read More »Founding of PanGeo Nature Risk GmbH
Shelter spaces as social and digital infrastructure for learning and working in times of crisis The SHAPE reimagines adaptive collaboration spaces for living, working, and learning in response to military conflict and its long-term impact on organizations and communities. These spaces are defined by the integration of physical shelters (such… Read More »SHAPE (Shelter-based Hubs for Adaptive Partnerships and Engagement)
Digital solutions for a cross-university, networked and future-oriented learning landscape The aim of the project is to strengthen cooperation between Zurich’s universities. The focus is on the vision of a networked ‘Zurich learning environment’. To this end, the starting point of the participating universities, international good practices and the needs… Read More »Learning environment Zurich
In the third DSI Insights of the year, Noah Bubenhofer, Co-Director of the Digital Society Initiative (DSI), explains how artificial intelligence (AI) can help with writing texts and why it doesn’t always make sense to leave the writing of a text entirely to AI. “In the educational context, this raises… Read More »How AI is changing the way we write and think
Perception is a major challenge for robots operating in dynamic, human-centered environments. The YuRo project responds to this by developing the first intelligent real-time vision system for robotic manipulators based on neuromorphic technology. The system uses commercially available Dynamic Vision Sensors (DVS) which captures only the most relevant visual changes,… Read More »YuRo: Use of robots in care
SAM (Simulated Assessment of Child Maltreatment Training Platform) is a joint research project of the ZHdK and the ZHAW. The aim is to improve diagnostics and interviewing in cases of suspected emotional abuse of children. https://youtu.be/o7H00YGm7mc The assessment of emotional abuse is challenging, especially the conversation with parents or caregivers.… Read More »SAM. A training platform for the assessment of emotional abuse of children
At the 4th Apéro Digital, participants were asked what developments they would like to see in the tech world and what headline would fit. The answers formed the basis for “Blick into the future”, a speculative newspaper that outlines in an entertaining and provocative way what would have to change… Read More »Speculative newspaper “Algorithm Resistance”