Save-the-Date: Inaugural Lectures 2026
We’re pleased to welcome our new professors Jürgen Cito, Peter Knees, and Tobias Fiebig!
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- Campus Freihaus, Informatikhörsaal
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1040 Vienna, Treitlstraße 3
Untergeschoß, Raum DEU116
Our new professors Jürgen Cito, Peter Knees and Tobias Fiebig are on stage! Don’t miss this opportunity to meet them in person and learn more about their current research.
We offer sign language interpretation and childcare for this event
We provide sign language interpretation (“ÖGS-Dolmetsch”) and child care for this event. Participants with care responsibilities are welcome to make use of our professional childcare service, available in TU Wien’s Eltern Kind Raum at Resselgasse 3 for children aged 3 and above, from 17:00 to 19:00. Registration is not required, but if you have any questions, please contact us at communications@informatics.tuwien.ac.at or call +43 664 605 881 953.
Program
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 17:00–17:10 | Opening and Welcome Address by Vice Rector Academic Affairs Jasmin Gründling-Riener and TU Wien Informatics Dean Gerti Kappel |
| 17:10–17:40 | Inaugural Lecture by Jürgen Cito |
| 17:40–18:10 | Inaugural Lecture Making it ping: Shaping the Future of the Internet at TU Wien by Tobias Fiebig |
| 18:10–18:40 | Inaugural Lecture by Peter Knees |
| 18:40–19:00 | Q&A and Closing Words |
| 19:00 | Networking with drinks and refreshments |
Tobias Fiebig
Making it ping: Shaping the Future of the Internet at TU Wien
The Internet is the largest continuous digital infrastructure, and — since the mid 1960s — has fundamentally altered society on a global scale. Traditionally described via, e.g., the seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, pop-culture now often also includes Layer 8 (People), Layer 9 (Organization), and Layer 10 (Political).
In this lecture, Tobias Fiebig will present a comprehensive approach towards understanding what the Internet is, what it does, how it shapes us, and how we will shape its future. During our journey throughout the layer stack, we will see how a comprehensive understanding of ‘the Internet’ as a whole requires a thorough technical understanding of the theoretical foundations of data networks, including a thorough theoretical background, and down to individual bits in IP packet headers. However, at the same time, we will regularly encounter how — seemingly — domain constrained topics intertwine. Human factors research is instrumental to describe why protocols and especially implementations are often not ideal, while large-scale network measurements allow us to direct a sociscope at society, and unravel political dynamics otherwise invisible. Hence, only by converging an interdisciplinary combination of fields and methods — each in all of its depth — can we truly study the colorful facets of the largest data network on our planet. And build a better one that enables us to stand up to the challenges humanity faces ahead.
In the end, our journey towards understanding ‘what makes us ping’ will lead us to a plethora of practical, theoretical, technical, and social challenges for the Internet and academia. But when all bits are counted, the question of how digital infrastructure can aid society in the — not always so bright — future to come remains. Let’s make it ping.
Photographs and/or video will be taken at this event. By attending, you grant TU Wien Informatics full rights to use the material (and any reproductions or adaptations) for fundraising, publicity, or other purposes. This may include (but is not limited to) the right to use in our print and online publicity, social media, press releases, and funding applications. If you wish that no photographs explicitly depicting you are used for these purposes, please send us an informal message. — Thank you!
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