Thomas Ballhausen

Thomas Ballhausen is a Professor of Media Education with a focus on innovative digital learning environments at the Vienna University of Teacher Education. He leads the Competence Center for STEM and Digitality (K:MID) and contributes to the Department for Media Education, Information Technology Education, and Digitality. His work bridges academic and artistic research, emphasizing media pedagogy, digitality critiques, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Ballhausen holds degrees in comparative literature, German philology, philosophy, and linguistics. His research explores (post-)digitality, material ecocriticism, and the intersection of literature with AI. He co-edits the journal Medienimpulse and has authored influential works like Fiction: Language Arts and Spatial Storytelling (2023) and Under Electric Moons (2023). His recent projects include the internationally acclaimed HOORCH initiative funded by Vienna’s 'Mutmillion' program, addressing youth communication skills.

He received the 2023 International Main Prize for Science & Research from the Salzburg Cultural Fund, recognizing his contributions to media education and artistic research. Ballhausen actively engages in policy-making, co-authoring the university’s position paper on AI in higher education and delivering lectures on AI ethics and pedagogical innovation.