Faculty of Commerce and Social Work

Funding through: ERDF

Project duration: 01.06.2025 - 31.05.2028

Project management: Prof. Dr Kirsten Wegner

Summary of the project

The aim of the project is to strengthen the competitiveness of regional companies in the districts of Uelzen, Celle and Heidekreis - the so-called future region HeiDefinition. To this end, the project includes needs-based training and workshops on digital transformation as well as practical experiments with digital technologies in the laboratory for logistics and process management at the Suderburg campus.

There are also plans to set up a regional network to support companies in identifying and integrating suitable contacts - such as specialised institutions, companies and experts - according to their individual digitalisation needs.

 

Ostfalia University is investigating the digitalisation status of SMEs in Uelzen, Celle and the Heidekreis in the ERDF project "HeiDigit@l".
SME representatives are invited to take part in an anonymous online survey from 15 January to 12 February.

👉 Click here for the survey: https: //unipark.de/uc/HeiDigital/ (external link, opens in a new window)

Funded by: BMBF

Project duration: 01.12.2024 - 30.11.2028

Project team: Prof Dr Björn Hermstein, Johannes Lünenschloß

Partner universities: University of Vechta, University of Applied Sciences for Social Work and Education (HSAP) Berlin

 

Summary of the project

School boards in Germany have the potential to act as key players in school development. The experiences with the Digital Pact for Schools and the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic have shown that there is still a great need for development in the technical infrastructure and the establishment of digital practices. The level of development of school authorities varies considerably due to different levels of agility, technical expertise and governance structures. TOBIS addresses the problem of insufficient support and involvement of school authorities in the context of digital school development. The aim is to provide practical research, networking and consulting services in order to generate action and transfer knowledge about the organisational development of school authorities and to promote their skills and structures for increased transprofessional cooperation. This should lead to effective and sustainable digital school development through the promotion of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP).

The plan is to involve 30 school organisations (ten private, ten urban and ten rural organisations) in three networks. These will be supported and analysed by our interdisciplinary research network. Analyses of specific needs and science-based consultations will address the challenges faced by the school authorities, while network workshops will promote the exchange of experiences and the development of best practices. The programme is being implemented through cooperation between three universities: HSAP Berlin focuses on the development of transprofessional skills and the formation of effective teams, Ostfalia University examines the opportunities for organisational development through optimised governance processes and network structures and the University of Vechta is dedicated to digital education and the use of OER and OEP. This collaboration enables practical findings and a comparative analysis of the different types of organisations.

Funded by: Volkswagen Foundation, Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony

Project duration: 01.07.2023 - 30.06.2026

Project management: Prof. Dr Kirsten Wegner

Research assistant: Zoé Lisanne Koltermann (M.A.)

 

Scientific partners at the Ostfalia:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bachem, Faculty of Automotive Engineering

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Xiaobo Liu-Henke, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

 

Summary of the project

In the transdisciplinary research project "SoFia - Safe autonomous cooperative driving in digitalised distribution logistics", an electronic vehicle management system (kiEFM) based on artificial intelligence (AI) is being developed. This enables safe, automated and cooperative driving in distribution logistics.

By communicating with other road users and the infrastructure using 5G technology, the intelligent vehicles can exchange information, e.g. about the planned route or obstacles on the carriageway. Similar to the cooperation of human drivers (e.g. through hand signals or direction indicators), this optimises driving behaviour in the entire cyber-physical traffic system. The kiEFM is designed on the basis of a holistic digitalised logistics concept for autonomous shuttle transport, enabling an energy-optimised, efficient and sustainable flow of goods. Specific application examples, such as the delivery of baked goods from the production site to various retail outlets, are taken into account. Model and software-based methods are initially used for the virtual development of the kiEFM. By identifying and virtually reconstructing safety-critical driving scenarios (e.g. intersections with poor visibility), accident avoidance manoeuvres are derived which the kiEFM executes independently. By merging environment sensor data with information from 5G communication and digital maps, the driving safety of the kiEFM is successively increased in an iterative process.

By generalising the results and findings obtained, recommendations for action are derived in the form of a roadmap that supports companies in the use of cooperative intelligent vehicles for the digitalised redesign of their shuttle transport in distribution logistics.