Freie Universität Berlin will present an online panel discussion entitled “Digital Revolution – Opportunities, Challenges, Implications” on Thursday, April 15, as part of its “Berlin Talks” series. Four experts have been invited to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and implications associated with the concept of the digital revolution. They will examine how the digital revolution has brought fundamental changes to society, culture, politics, economics, and education. Their discussion will cover a wide range of questions, such as how digitalization has affected humanity’s ability to interconnect and communicate, and the important role it plays in the globalization of production and markets.

The audience is invited to submit questions and comments for the panelists on the “Berlin Talks” website before the talk. The event will be live-streamed in English via Webex, and viewers are invited to participate virtually via the chat function. The event is co-organized by the international short-term study programs FU-BEST (European Studies) and FUBiS (International Summer and Winter University)

Panelists

• Dr. Dirk Verheyen (moderator): Academic director, FU-BEST
• Prof. Dr. Anabel Ternès: Digital entrepreneur, professor and expert on digital communication; specializations include the future of human resource management, leadership, health care, and developments in the education sector.
• Larissa Zeichhardt: Electrical engineer; specialist in the fields of IT, traffic and mobility planning, urban development, networking. CEO of the enterprise LAT, which offers a wide range of services and products for the transportation industry, healthcare providers, and public space management, from plant construction (e.g., power rails) to video surveillance.
• Prof. Dr. Martin Emmer: Founding director and principal investigator (PI) at the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society and, since 2011, professor of communication science at Freie Universität Berlin, where he heads the Division for Media Use Research. Former managing director of the Institute for Media and Communication Studies (IfPuK) at Freie Universität and since 2016, principal investigator at the Einstein Center Digital Future in Berlin. His main research interests are political communication, the use of digital media, and methods of empirical communication research.
• Dr. Bruno Gransche: Philosopher and futurologist; postdoctoral researcher at the interdisciplinary research center of the University of Siegen (FoKoS, Institute of Advanced Studies); digitalization expert, with a special focus on the philosophy of new human-technology relationships, as well as social and ethical issues.

Panel Discussion Broadcast

• Thursday, April 15, 2021, 7:00–8:30 p.m. (CEST)
  Live stream via Webex Events: https://fu-berlin.webex.com/fu-berlin-en/onstage/g.php?MTID=e59aaead55cbc0a2edce7eb723a1a6a2c (password: berlintalks); available later on the website www.fu-berlin.de/berlintalks as well as on the YouTube channels of FU-BEST and FUBiS, the organizers of the event.

• The event will be held in English and will be broadcast live from the Academic Senate Hall of Freie Universität Berlin. Online viewers are invited to submit questions for the panelists before the event on the “Berlin Talks” website. They can also participate via the chat function during the talk with questions and comments.
  

Further Information

About “Berlin Talks”

This interactive and public online event series addresses social issues, discussed and examined from different perspectives by internationally recognized experts, and is organized by the international short-term study programs of Freie Universität Berlin, FU-BEST and FUBiS: www.fu-berlin.de/berlintalks

About Freie Universität Berlin European Studies Program (FU-BEST) and Freie Universität Berlin International Summer and Winter University (FUBiS)

These international short-term study programs include German language instruction as well as a large selection of courses in a variety of subjects, many taught in English. Participants can choose between a semester-long program or the summer/winter program. For more information visit www.fubest.org and www.fubis.org. Both programs have been awarded the Quality Improvement Program (QUIP) quality seal by the Forum on Education Abroad.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the programs also offer academic online programs, awarding internationally recognized ECTS credits, as well as free online public lecture series. The online courses offered by FU-BEST and FUBiS were recognized in 2020 by the initiative “Germany ‘Land of Ideas’: Beyond Crisis.”

Online Initiatives

• “Berlin Talks” panel discussion series: www.fu-berlin.de/berlintalks
  Upcoming Event:
  June 17, 2021 Young Globalization – Role and Impact of Young Leaders in a Post-National World

• Videos from the FU-BEST public lecture series 2020: www.fubest.org/online, YouTube
• Videos from the FUBiS public lecture series 2020: http://www.fubis.org/online, YouTube
• FUBiS summer courses, term II and term III, 2021: http://www.fubis.org/de
• FU-BEST Fall semester 2021 (on-site and online): http://www.fubest.org

Contact

Friederike Zähringer, Coordinator Marketing & Communications, Freie Universität Berlin International Summer and Winter University FUBiS / Freie Universität Berlin European Studies Program (FU-BEST), Tel.: +49 30 838-66560, Email: friederike.zaehringer@fu-berlin.de

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