IWDS 2023

The 2nd Interdisciplinary Workshop
on the Digital Society

Digital technology – from social robotics to smart mobile devices, from global social media networks to fluent natural language processing tools, from realistic virtual environments to knowledgeable virtual agents – is rapidly changing, and society is changing with it. At the same time, new societal problems arise such as global social justice, climate change, human mobility and sustainability, or transnational (re)organization of politics and economy which technological solutions cannot yet address. To study how digital technologies and societal problems interact, we want to support researchers who take on interdisciplinary approaches.

Do you have a research idea that is both interdisciplinary and linked to the digital society? Would you like to get to know your peers,  learn from your complementary interests, and discuss potential collaborations? Then this event may be for you!

The 2nd Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Digital Society will be held on February 10, 2023 at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (details to be announced). The workshop is organized by the Network Institute. Our primary goal is to bring together researchers from different backgrounds interested and to provide a low-threshold opportunity to present your work. \Participants will have the opportunity to show a poster and give a very short lightning presentation to interact and connect with colleagues from inside and outside the VU. The program will also include fun networking activities, including a research speed dating session, and the opportunity to win a research money voucher.

Submission Guidelines

We invite all researchers interested in interdisciplinary topics related to the Digital Society to contribute to our program. We accept two types of submissions:

  1. A previously published paper: submit your existing paper to initiate interdisciplinary discussions. You might find the right collaborator for a follow-up project.
  2. Work in progress: submit a short abstract describing your work in progress. You might receive valuable feedback from outside your academic bubble.

All submissions must be entered in the EasyChair platform (as pdf format): https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=iwds20220

Submission Deadline: December 19, 2022
Author Notification: week of Jan 16, 2023

**Registration is now open (until Feb 3)!** Please use this link to register (mandatory)

Date: Feb 10, 2023
Location: NU-4C51 Theater 9

Schedule

  • Intro – 13:30-13:45
  • Lightning talks – 13:45-14:15
  • Poster session + coffee break – 14:15-15:15
  • Research “speed-dating” – 15:15-16:15 (NU-3B05)
  • Closing and awards – 16:15-17:00
  • Borrel / Networking – 17:00 onwards

Here is a Twitter thread containing all lighting talks given by our participants.

Research vouchers for participants

By participating in the IWDS you are eligible to apply for research vouchers offered by the Network Institute by sending a short joint research proposal (2 researchers, possibly more). All proposals will go through a blind peer review process after which we will award vouchers to three of them.

The top three proposals will receive a research voucher of 1k, 1.5k, and 2.5k Euros, respectively, that can be spent in any research activity related to the project (e.g., travel, equipment, assistants).

Requirements

  • At least one author was a registered participant of IWDS
  • Al least one author is a member of one of the six NI departments/institutes
    • Athena Institute (Faculty of Science)
    • Computer Science (Faculty of Science)
    • Communication Science (Faculty of Social Sciences)
    • KIN Center for Digital Innovation (School of Business and Economics)
    • Language, Literature and Communication (Faculty of Humanities)
    • Organization Sciences (Faculty of Social Sciences)
  • The research proposal should not exceed a single A4 page
  • While the research proposal needs to be anonymised by removing personal information, please state all departments (not research groups) represented
  • The voucher can be used for any expenses related to your research idea, including hiring a research assistant, equipment, software, etc.. Please indicate what you would use the money for if you got 1k and if you got 2.5k.

Criteria

  • Relevance for the broader theme of digital society
  • Novelty of the research question, methodology, and/or technology
  • Interdisciplinarity in terms of topic and/or approach
  • Feasibility in terms of a research plan, or additional funding

Deadlines

  • Deadline for submission: Friday 17th of March, 2023 at 23:59
  • Submit by uploading your anonymized research proposal in a pdf format here
  • Notification date: Wednesday 6th of April, 2023

For any questions, please contact Tomislav Karacic at t.karacic@vu.nl

Pilot collaboration platform
To further support interdisciplinary research, we have set up a Collaboration platform through Teams which you can access here. The idea behind the platform is to provide a space where you can:

  • advertise project ideas to find potential collaborators
  • offer your expertise to ongoing projects
  • get information about Network Institute Research team events (e.g. research lunches)
  • invite other VU researchers to the platform to further develop an interdisciplinary community

We have created a dedicated IWDS channel that you can use to continue conversations you started during the event.

This project is still in the pilot phase, so please use it as you see fit and do not hesitate to reach out for feedback or you would like to see a particular channel created.

Organizing committee:
Kousar Aslam – Computer Science
Kim Baraka (coordinator) – Computer Science
Lisa Beinborn – Language, Literature and Communication
Jaron Harambam – Athena Institute
Tomislav Karačić – KIN Center for Digital Innovation
Lea Lösch – Athena Institute
Martina Testori – Organization Sciences
Maike Tietschert – Organization Sciences

Link to IWDS 2022.