Re­search pro­file

Especially recently, it has become increasingly clear how important a functioning health care system is for the provision of care to the population. However, expansion and further development are very expensive, and in addition it is difficult to find suitable personnel regardless of the financing. Conversely, the scarce personnel situation leads to an increased workload and thus to a low attractiveness of medical and nursing professions.

Our questions are therefore: Can the use of digitalization in medicine and care make healthcare more effective and efficient? Is the use of artificial intelligence, computers and robots capable of improving the quality of diagnosis and therapy with the same amount of personnel? Can modern digital process support increase the attractiveness of medical and nursing professions? What are the ethical and data protection challenges?

How can the movement of people and goods be improved in the future by using new technical possibilities in such a way that both the ecological challenges are mastered and the economic, social and demographic necessities are taken into account? 

To answer these questions, we investigate novel concepts of multimodal, networked and intelligent mobility of people, but also innovative solutions in freight transport.

Our research topics include mobility design and mobility management in the digital age, innovative approaches to incentivising the use of public transport, design of new measurement sensor technology (IoT), autonomous transport systems, use cases for the physical internet, crowd logistics, production close to the point of use through 3D printing and new urban transport concepts for people and goods.

Ever-shorter innovation cycles and changes in the market environment require established companies to develop new business models and change existing ones. These incumbents thus remain competitive and innovative. Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship play a special role for start-ups.

Within the research field "Business Models and Entrepreneurship", methods for the successful innovation of business models are researched and developed further. The main issues are the definition of customer segments and channels, the development of services, the definition of value creation and partnerships, and the derivation of appropriate revenue and cost mechanisms.

Digitalisation and automation are leading to profound social and economic changes. Markets and media are changing: companies have to deal with radically changed information, purchasing and usage behavior of customers while keeping an eye on sales and profits. At the same time, innovative tools and strategies for the digital world influence work and value creation, communication and perception of reality as well as economic, political and personal decisions.

Applied marketing and sales research as well as communication and media research at HNU analyse the associated opportunities and risks and develop solution proposals and concepts in cooperation with regional and international partners. The focus is on the digitization and automation of processes by using artificial intelligence and VR/Mixed Media. They serve to investigate changes in perception and in communication, decision-making and purchasing behaviour.