Volume 66, Issue 2-3 - Special Issue: Creative Spaces in Computer Sciences; Guest Editors: Martin Kohler, Ricardo Usbeck and Janick Edinger

In the digital age of health, health professionals face the major challenge of adapting to rapidly evolving digital technologies. Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and communication are essential skills to use the potential of a digital health system and project work in Creative Labs, especially regarding high-risk projects that bring together professionals from different backgrounds for the common goal of developing innovative concepts and products. So far, too little interprofessional competence acquisition is offered at universities. In this article, we present a joint teaching program in which students of computer science and health sciences design and develop digital health projects in joint project work. The teaching program consists of different phases, including thematic basics, accompanying identification of ideas for the project work, working sessions, and final presentation of the digital health projects. We also present the teaching concept, as well as the piloting of the program and the results of its evaluation. The results point to the high potential that can unfold in IPC teaching and how important it is for future healthcare professionals to be adaptable to new technologies and IPC. Practical recommendations include considerations for joint teaching, module structure, and a brief discussion of challenges on an organizational level.

Inspired by the rich tapestry of nature, biomimicry encourages designers, engineers, and researchers to draw inspiration from the natural world to create technological solutions. However, little is known about the usage of biomimicry in participatory research involving local people without technical expertise. In this paper, we present two case studies to explore how performative biomimicry is when applied in a participatory research process with local people of different ages. To this end, we conducted two different case studies and asked our participants to analyze the characteristics of different animal species to design an interactive prototype that addresses a specific task. Both case studies demonstrated promising potential for biomimicry, as the participants drew inspiration from animal species to develop functional prototypes and narratives that resonate on an emotional level. Finally, we discuss the benefits of integrating biomimicry in participatory research and how this method could be used to promote social change and transformation in the society, for example, in STEM education, digital literacy, and environmental awareness.

The Hacker School is a German non-profit aiming to introduce young people to the world of IT and programming. The organizational commitment is to ensure that young people – regardless of origin, gender or social environment – have had the experience of programming at least once themselves to be able to actively shape their own digital future. The courses promote creative experimental learning by actively incorporating the 21st century skills and enable accessibility and equal opportunities, and practical orientation. This results in a higher self-confidence for the area of IT, as well as an improvement in the interest in IT.

Creative labs play a crucial role in transforming computer science education by fostering interdisciplinary, project-based learning that bridges theory and real-world applications. Focusing on the base.camp within Hamburg’s ahoi.digital Network of Labs, this study highlights how such labs address the limitations of traditional curricula. Students are encouraged to explore innovative solutions with the freedom to fail, viewing setbacks as valuable learning steps. By integrating diverse academic and societal perspectives, creative labs prepare future computer scientists to handle complex, multidisciplinary challenges. The article emphasizes educational strategies and practices that support open-ended, exploratory learning, making creative labs pivotal in the progression of computer science education.

The paper presents a novel digital tool – the “Knowledge Synthesizer” – that converges research knowledge in the context of sustainable urban development, and generates insights about relevant future trends in the field. Conceived and implemented for the large-scale research program “Sustainable Development of Urban Regions” (SURE), the prototype tool organizes knowledge created by roughly 400 persons who are active in 147 involved institutions. Throughout the history of science, various attempts have been made to design synthetic devices to integrate large bodies of knowledge and generate new intelligence. Inspired by such historical concepts, and informed by an inquiry into the epistemological nature of knowledge generation, the paper outlines the design and functionality of the digital prototype, its general components and first test applications in the context of SURE.