uni.news

» Published on 18. August 2014

Nationwide Study on Football Fans in the Stadium

Bielefeld University launches online survey

How do football fans show their love for their club? Researchers at the Institute for In-terdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence at Bielefeld University are trying to find that out. The Institute’s new nationwide project called “Bielefeld football fans survey” (BiFans), led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Zick, investigates fan cultures and how fans identify with football clubs from the First to Third German Leagues. For this study, the researchers are looking for football fans who attend stadium games played by teams in these Leagues to complete an online survey. The German Football League and the German Football Association are supporting the project, but it remains scientifically independent. The online survey is now open.

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» Published on 18. August 2014

An intelligent apartment for life

Federal Ministry for Education and Research funds project of Bielefeld University and 13 regional partners

A new project, ‘KogniHome’, has been launched to develop a networked home that supports the health, quality of life and safety of families, people living alone and senior citizens. Fourteen project partners from Ostwestfalen-Lippe will be collaborating in the new regional innovation cluster ‘KogniHome’ over the next three years. The Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting the project until 2017 with eight million Euros of funding. KogniHome is led by CITEC, the Cluster of Excellence at Bielefeld University. Further partners include white goods manufacturer Miele, the v. Bodelschwingh Foundation and the company Hella, Lippstadt. The total amount of funding, including contributions from these project partners, amounts to 11.3 million Euros.

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» Published on 12. August 2014

Bielefeld University popular among international researchers

11th place in ranking by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Bielefeld University is high up in the 2014 Humboldt Rankings: In the overall ranking of German universities, Bielefeld University comes 11th out of 79. It is now number two in North Rhine-Westphalia behind Bonn University.

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» Published on 12. August 2014

Delegation from Beijing learns about the teutolab Chemistry

Bielefeld’s Science Festival GENIALE is the reason for the visit of a five-member delegation from Beijing, a city numbering 20 million inhabitants. They are representatives of the Beijing Association for Science and Technology (BAST), the biggest organisation for science and technology in Beijing. The high-ranking delegation visited Bielefeld University’s teutolab Chemistry on Friday (8 August). Professor Dr. Rudolf Herbers, who heads the teutolab, explained the aims and development of the hands-on science laboratory for children and young people and its meanwhile international satellites. Afterwards, the guests were able to see the experiments and talk with the pupils. The members of the delegation had brought a valuable gift with them: an invitation to the Science Festival in Beijing from 18 to 21 September.

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» Published on 8. August 2014

University Canteen Moves to Building X

As of 21 July 2014, the new university canteen in Building X will offer expanded dining options with a reconceptualized style of serving

On Friday 18 July 2014, members of the university community dined at the canteen for the last time in almost 39 years. That following weekend, the canteen moved to its new location in Building X. On Monday, 21 July, the new canteen opened its doors to hungry students and staff. In addition to providing a wider selection of meal options, the new cafeteria offers a new style of serving in which guests can largely put their own meals together.

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» Published on 7. August 2014

Five Summer School Programmes at Bielefeld University

300 students from around the world will spend their summers studying at Bielefeld University’s Summer School Programs

Various academic faculties and departments of Bielefeld University as well as the “it’s OWL” Cluster of Excellence are organizing summer school programmes for students and international researchers at the end of the term and during the semester break. Around 300 participants will take part in continuing education and exchange activities. The spectrum of topics offered ranges from mathematical economics to literary studies, all the way to intelligent technical systems. Additionally, summer language courses in German will also be offered to international students and doctoral researchers.

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» Published on 24. Juli 2014

Genetic study shows major impact of climate change on Antarctic fur seals

Genetic analysis of Antarctic fur seals, alongside decades of in-depth monitoring,* has provided unique insights into the effect of climate change on a population of top-predators. Published in Nature this week, the findings show that the seals have significantly altered in accordance with changes in food availability that are associated with climate conditions. Despite a shift in the population towards ‘fitter’ individuals, this fitness is not passing down through generations, leaving the population in decline.

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» Published on 18. Juli 2014

Developing a Distinct “Robot Culture”

Visiting Professor for Gender Studies Selma Šabanovic held public lectures at Bielefeld University

Depending on their cultural background, people react differently to a robot’s appearance. What this is implies for robot design was the topic of a lecture given by Social Informatics researcher Selma Šabanović, Ph.D., at Bielefeld University’s Center of Excellence Cognitive Interactive Technology (CITEC) on 14 July. In her talk, Dr. Šabanović presented her approach to designing robots whose functions can be understood independently of the user’s cultural background. Šabanović was invited by the CITEC Center of Excellence and is currently a Visiting Professor for Gender Studies at Bielefeld University. In another lecture, she examined the issue of how social robots can intensify gender stereotypes depending on whether they look “female” or “male.” This lecture was held on 16 July at Bielefeld University. Both lectures were open to the public. 

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» Published on 11. Juni 2014

The difference between robot girls and boys

Social informatics researcher Selma Šabanović takes up the Visiting Professorship for Gender Studies at Bielefeld University

When are robots assigned a male or female gender? Do men and women think about or interact differently with robots? How do our social notions and lived experiences of gender influence the design and use of social robots? Social informatics and human-robot interaction researcher Selma Šabanović PhD from Indiana University in Bloomington, USA, investigates questions such as these. From mid-June she will take up the post of Visiting Professor for Gender Studies at Bielefeld University. Šabanović will be giving lectures in the current summer semester and discussing research on gender, culture, and robotics in seminars at the Faculty of Technology and in the Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology CITEC.

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» Published on 2. Juni 2014

‘Refugee tragedies are a thorn in the flesh of the EU’

Sociology professor Thomas Faist addresses Bielefeld conference/ Topic of the conference: Social inequality and crisis

‘The never-ending refugee tragedies in the Mediterranean are a thorn in the flesh of the European Union’ says the migration expert Professor Thomas Faist in the run-up to a conference on social inequality and crisis in Bielefeld. ‘At the same time as EU representatives are demanding respect for human rights, the EU is turning desperate refugees away from its borders. This makes the policies of the EU open to attack,’ considers Faist. At the international conference from 4 to 6 June, Faist and about 30 further researchers will be considering when social inequalities are made a matter of public concern (conference title: ‘A New Social Question or Crisis as Usual?’). The conference is being organized by the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS).

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