DiNaMo

Exploring the potential and barriers associated with attending virtual conferences. The goal is to develop a service package to assist organisers in understanding, planning and running virtual conferences.

Description

In Germany, the transport sector is responsible for nearly 20% of CO₂ emissions along with noise and particulate matter pollution. This is where a new BMBF joint project coordinated by the Green Office at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) comes in. The project “Digitalisation for Sustainable Mobility“ (DiNaMo) is looking for ways to digitally support and promote sustainable mobility at universities. Partners in the project are the Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HsH), the Hannover Medical School (MHH) and the TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library.

In DiNaMo, TIB is aiming to support CO₂ emission reduction from academic mobility by examining the technical and organisational aspects of virtual conferences. Scholarly events such as conferences, workshops or symposia are a central feature of scientific life. However, the significant carbon impact of academic conferences, largely due to air travel, serves as a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting travel restrictions have underlined the importance of virtual conferences and led to significant changes in communication and working practices surrounding conference attendance. The aim of the DiNaMo project in TIB is to identify barriers and the potential associated with participating in virtual conferences. Through qualitative interviews with researchers across various disciplines and career stages, the project aims to gain insights into how virtual conferencing can be improved. The results will be used to improve the conference recording service, ConRec, operated at TIB, for the organisation and implementation of virtual events. As part of the project, the results will also be used to promote the implementation of virtual conferences at the participating universities.

Cooperation

Participating research institutions:

• Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH): Prof. Dr Eva Barlösius, Dr Stephanie Mittrach, Prof. Dr Michael Rohs, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Monika Sester
• Hochschule Hannover – Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HsH): Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lars-Oliver Gusig
• Hannover Medical School (MHH): Prof. Dr. med. Uwe Tegtbur, PD Dr. Sven Haufe
• TIB– Leibniz Information Centre for Technology and Natural Sciences and University Library (TIB): Margret Plank from the Lab Non-Textual Materials

Links

PR­OJECT: DIGITALISATION FOR SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY (DINAMO)

This project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.