At the end of February, we had the honor of hosting a delegation from Rotterdam at TU Wien Informatics, where we shared insights about our outreach projects. Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, and International Affairs at TU Wien Peter Ertl, gave a warm welcome to the delegation, which included Faouzi Achbar (Vice Mayor of Rotterdam for digital inclusion, well-being and sports), Yvon Koomen-Rensma (expert in digital inclusion), and Murat Altunbas (advisor to the Vice Mayor of Rotterdam). The visit at TU Wien Informatics was part of a bigger networking and exchange with the City of Vienna, and the delegation was accompanied by Philip Lehner from the City of Vienna’s Department for Europe and International Affairs.

The focus of this exchange meeting was on outreach projects like Digital Humanism, an initiative that was started in 2019 at TU Wien by former dean Hannes Werthner. Stefan Woltran introduced the initiative, which is about addressing global issues in systems, networks, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Peter Knees and Julia Neidhardt, UNESCO chairs on Digital Humanism, gave the delegation an overview of the rich activities of the Digital Humanism Initiative, like the recently established Doctoral College, the Summer School, and the books and video lectures that are freely available. Sabine Köszegi gave insights into her work with different stakeholders about establishing ethical guidelines when it comes to using AI – a topic that has become highly relevant since ChatGPT and other AI-fueled technologies have entered the mainstream.