Information on individual educational components (ECTS-Course descriptions) per semester

Participating students are expected to have interest in science, as well as the impulse and the ability to work independently and to systematically answer questions. The selection is therefore based on an application letter and a selection interview.

The prerequisite for the assignment of this course is the willingness to continue the started project in the following semester in the course of 6 ECTS "Research Project: User-centered Technologies 2". In case of insufficient study success, the continuation of the context study in the following semester is carried out independently from the module "Research Project: User- centered Technologies 2".

A continuation of the research project within the scope of a master thesis is strived for. Due to the required prerequisites there is no entitlement for students to be admitted to the module.

Fundamentals of scientific work, introduction to research design and research planning, applied research and development methods in the field of technology-supported supply systems for people with impairments, human-machine interaction in industrial plants and digital media in learning and working environments.

In collaboration with an interdisciplinary research team, consisting of computer, design and social scientists, students are working on a research project in the field of technology-supported supply systems for people with impairments, human-machine interaction at industrial plants and digital media within learning and working environments. The work is carried out within the framework of European research programs (such as Joint Program Active & Assisted Living) or national research programs (for example, information and communication technology of the future). Through these projects, they acquire (1) experience from transnational R & D cooperation in different scientific disciplines, (2) deepened methodological knowledge, which is not standard in the core curricula, and (3) deepened expertise that prepares them well for later scientific activities (eg Master Thesis, Dissertation).

An additional learning outcome is the competence for the transfer of research results obtained into the practice, which is an result from the integration of regional enterprises and social organizations into the ongoing R & D projects. In their research, the students deal with the premises of their hypotheses and their actions as well as the validity and the effects of their findings. The students gain self-experience and professional experience tby means of free ideas, in interaction with others, in self-organization and in the implementation of ideas and applications.

Activation: The students take responsibility for the research and learning process by contributing their own views and raising questions in the jointly discussed research project.

Action orientation: Students will recognize the discrepancy between their current state of knowledge and the state of their goals when taking the topic into consideration. At the same time, the focus is on the methods and skills necessary for dealing with the question, so that a targeted acquisition of the necessary procedures can be carried out by the students.

Deliberate implementation: Agreement for framework conditions and practices that make the research project possible and promising. These include common rules and expectations, milestones, dealing with failure and restart, as well as the agreement, for which the students assume responsibility and accountability.

Embedding: Contact persons in the R & D team, including their availability, and in particular mentors are named. There are conditions under which a sufficient contact with the students is guaranteed and which enable exchange tas well as continuous feedback.

Support is given by researchers at the University of Applied Sciences FH Vorarlberg by means of coaching, instruction, participation in discussions and seminars, as well as by self-study.

Degree of achievement in the discussion of defined learning and work objectives with reference to the previous knowledge of the student. Documentation of the learning results and project implementation, in-house presentation, together with the other students in research projects.

This course constitutes the first cycle of the module "Research Project: User Centered Technologies“ which will be continued under the same title in the subsequent winter term.

Döring, N. & Bortz, J. (2016). Forschungsmethoden und Evaluation in den Sozial- und Humanwissenschaften. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978- 3-642-41089-5

Jost, P. & Künz, A. (Hrsg.) (2015). Digitale Medien in Arbeits- und Lernumgebungen. Pabst Science Publishers Lengerich.

Kahaus, H. & Krause, N. (2017). Fundiert forschen. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-658-15575-9

Kempter, G. & Weidmann, K.-H. (Hrsg.) (2012). Technik für Menschen im nächsten Jahrzehnt. Pabst Science Publishers Lengerich.

Kempter, G. & Hämmelre, I. (Hrsg.) (2017). Umgebungsunterstütztes Leben. Pabst Science Publishers Lengerich.

Simonis, G. (2013), Konzepte und Verfahren der Technikfolgenabschätzung. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-658-02035-4

Specific literature is arranged separately in each project, depending on the specific question.

Students deepen their research questions in R & D projects, for which the Research Center User-Centered Technologies has obtained funding in the course of highly competitive international calls. Experiences and insights from the research process are recorded in a logbook. As learners, they get the time to discover their own strengths in research and development as well as to move beyond the boundaries of their own discipline. In the actual research process they apply a scientific approach in survey and analysis as well as a constructive handling in the discussion with the interdisciplinary R&D team. Coaching, instruction, participation in discussions and seminars as well as accompanying self-study are part of the study programme.