How are researchers working together in the CARPE consortium?

One of the first SIGs to take up work was the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence group made up of Dr. Susanne Draheim and Prof. Dr. Kai von Luck together with Dr. Huib Aldewereld, Prof. Dr. Johan Versendaal and Marije Braun from Utrecht. In monthly lunch meetings, the participants introduce themselves and selected projects, partly to recruit additional members to the open working group. The goal is to meet in person, and planning is already underway for an initial mini-conference in Utrecht this spring. Especially for newly appointed researchers, the SIGS also provide a good opportunity to quickly and easily become involved in joint research and preparing EU proposals in international teams. The groups are also well-suited to cross-university collaboration on topics in the area of studies and teaching. We spoke with one of the group's leaders, sociologist Dr. Susanne Draheim, about the work currently underway.

Frau Dr. Draheim, what are the advantages of this new way of organising work within special interest groups?
Academic cooperation typically takes place across universities, which means that researchers network nationally and internationally in their respective discipline's community, at conferences and in professional associations. The SIGs have initated a forum for exchange that makes researchers' activities, such as publications, presentations, workshops, projects and proposal submissions, visible within the research groups. The SIGs are open to additional researchers and therefore provide a good opportunity for international networking, especially for junior researchers and newly appointed academics.

What is the goal of the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence working group? Who is participating and why?
Our SIG is intended for interested researchers working in the area of data science and, more generally, the interdisciplinary field of articial intelligence. We aim to attract university instructors, academic staff members and doctoral students, but even Master's students who are interested are welcome. We are still in the initial phase and are currently reviewing the field of applicants and testing suitable formats for exchange and cooperation. The interests of those involved are diverse; in most cases they want to undertake subject-related or institutional networking in order to expand their own expertise and find international research partners. Some people also want to become involved in a new subject area or in cooperative research.