Birte Schiffhauer

Prof. Dr. Birte Schiffhauer is a Professor (W2) for 'Digitalization of Social Lifeworlds and Professions' at Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts, within Faculty V: Diaconia, Health and Social Affairs, Department of Social Work. She joined this position in 2024 after previously holding the same professorship at Catholic University of Applied Sciences NRW. Her career includes academic positions at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, industry roles at Volkswagen AG's Carmeq GmbH as a Software Designer, and postdoctoral research at Bielefeld University's Cluster of Excellence for Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC). She has been a visiting scientist at Osaka University and the University of Southern California.

Education:
• Dr. rer. nat. in Psychology from Bielefeld University
• M.Sc. in Systems Biology of Brain and Behavior
• B.A. in Social Sciences with Psychology minor

Research Focus: Her work centers on human-technology interaction, social robotics, AI/VR design, and digitalization's societal impacts. Key areas include ethical technology development, assistive systems for social work, virtual reality applications in education, and participatory design methodologies for welfare organizations.

Publication Trends: Recent articles (2020-2024) demonstrate strong emphasis on responsible digital transformation, with recurring themes in VR/robotics applications for social services, ethical frameworks for technology deployment, and empirical studies on digital tools in clinical practice and education.

Teaching Projects: Leads innovative educational initiatives including:

• Social robotics training with Pepper robot
• VR scenario development for social work students
• AI curriculum design for social work programs
• Hybrid learning support systems