The future of work @KD2Lab

  • Date: 01.06.2022

  • On the 1st of June 2022 the KIT-Business-Club – a community of interdisciplinary experts from industry and academia – came together at the KD²Lab for essential discussions about the future of work. The event was kicked-off by presentations from Prof. Thomas Hirth (Vice-President for Innovation and International Affairs, KIT), reviewing salient topics at KIT, by Prof. Petra Nieken (Chair Lead for Human Resource Management, KIT), sharing insights into her research on the “Future of Work and the Karlsruhe Decision & Design Lab”, and finally by Axel Platz (User Experience Designer, Siemens AG), presenting central understandings of “User Experience, Design & Digitalization” in the industry.

After experiencing the KD2Lab from the inside through a guided tour the Business-Club members saw an introduction to the various technological and methodological research approaches employed in one of Europe’s largest experimental laboratories. The demonstrations showcased how to:

  • Analyze human interaction using responsive web applications
  • Use mixed reality to educate how users' information processing systems work
  • Interact with computers using eye-tracking in the game "Where is Walter?"
  • Measure cognitive load and monitor flow via ear-EEG
  • Tour the KD2Lab virtually in the context of digital citizen science research

The fruitful and lively discussion was continued at a shared dinner that resulted in two main findings. First, Digitalization never stops, so there is a never-ending need for research on future aspects of work. Second, after-work hours should definitely be one of those aspects!The KD²Lab-Team thanks the KIT-Business-Club for the opportunity to demonstrate the potential and opportunities of the Karlsruhe Decision & Design Lab for exploring the future of work.