Timo Ackermann

Prof. Dr. Timo Ackermann is a Professor of Social Work with a specialization in child and youth welfare at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences (ASH Berlin) since 2019. His academic career includes previous positions as Professor substitute at FH Potsdam (2017-2019) and Guest professor at ASH Berlin (2016-2017). He completed his PhD in social and educational sciences at the University of Hildesheim in 2016.

His research focuses on child and youth welfare, child protection, social work organizations, ethnographic and participatory research methods, and the perspectives of social work users. Currently, he is part of an analysis team in the QUEK-Pilot project, a pilot project for case analyses in youth welfare child protection, led by DJI München and ISA Münster. He is also organizing a lecture series on participatory research at ASH Berlin that began in the summer semester of 2024 and continues in the winter semester, serving as a platform for exchanging participatory and collaborative research approaches.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on comparative child protection systems, participatory research methodologies, and the impact of digital technologies on child welfare practices. His work spans international comparisons of child protection systems in countries like Germany, Finland, and Switzerland, while also examining the practical implementation of participatory methods with children and service users. A notable trend in his recent work is the critical examination of digital tools, algorithms, and Big Data applications in child protection decision-making processes.

Prof. Ackermann actively engages with the academic community through numerous conference presentations and collaborations, including a research stay in San Francisco in spring 2023 with Prof. Dr. Emily Ozer and the 'Innovations for Youth' network at UC Berkeley. His work bridges academic research with practical applications in social work, particularly in the field of child protection.