Frankfurt. On April 25, 2018, the central transfer conference of the "Challenge Cloud and Crowd" project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will take place in Frankfurt am Main. The focus will be on the question of how the effects on the world of work and society resulting from digitalization can be successfully shaped. A particular focus of this event, which is being coordinated by the Department of Information Systems at the University of Kassel in cooperation with IG Metall and Ver.di, is on crowdworking platforms. Top-class speakers from society, business and science could be won for this event.

"Digitalization is currently changing the way we work, live and communicate with each other," said Prof. Dr. Jan Marco Leimeister, Head of the Department of Information Systems and Director at the Scientific Center for IT Design (ITeG) at the University of Kassel. "Germany, as the largest economy in Europe and the fourth largest economy in the world, must ensure that it does not lose out in this area compared to economies such as the U.S., China or Japan," Leimeister said. "Crowd mechanisms are increasingly finding their way into internal company processes and are playing a significant role in shaping new forms of digital work," said Dr. Christoph Peters, research group and project leader at the Department of Information Systems at the University of Kassel.

The project "Challenge Cloud and Crowd - Sustainably Designing New Organizational Concepts for Services", funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), is intensively examining the effects of this digitalization on business and society. One focus is on the new organization of work via crowdworking platforms. These are intermediaries on which organizations such as companies can advertise work via an open call to a larger number of potential workers. The project consortium includes the Institute for Social Science Research Munich, the University of Kassel, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, IG Metall, ver.di and andrena objects AG.

Which key digital trends are currently influencing the economy & society? What conditions are necessary for Germany to remain 'fit' for the digital age? How can we ensure that people continue to have 'good jobs' in the future? And what will the working world of the future look like? These and other questions will be discussed with the following speakers, among others:

- Christiane Benner, Second Chairwoman IG Metall

- Monika Brandl, Chairwoman of the Trade Union Council of the United Services Union ver.di

- Anna  Kopp, Head of IT Microsoft Germany and Re-gional Office Lead Munich HQ

- Mirjam  Pütz, Managing Director, Chief Digital Office Deut-sche Bank

- Bastian Unterberg, Chief Executive Officer Crowdworking Platform Jovoto

- Prof. Melissa Valentine, PhD, Co-Director of the Center for Work, Technology, and Organization (WTO), Stanford University

Participants will also have the opportunity to engage in three workshops focused on the enterprise, platform, and crowdworker perspectives. This event is embedded in the Science Year 2018 of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and will take place on 

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

In Frankfurt am Main, IG Metall, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Strasse 79.

The invitation to this event including the program is attached. Press representatives are cordially invited to attend this event (registration required by email to volkmar.mrass@uni-kassel.de). 

Enclosed please find the program of this event as well as the complete press release.

Your interlocutors:

Volkmar Mrass

Research Associate

University of Kassel / ITeG

Department of Business Informatics

(Prof. Dr. Jan Marco Leimeister)

Pfannkuchstraße 1, 34121 Kassel, Germany

E-mail: volkmar.mrass@uni-kassel.de

Phone: +49 561 804 - 6066 

Dr. Jutta Witte

Journalist office Surpress GbR

Appenbergstrasse 11

72072 Tuebingen

Tel.: +49 7472 9487769

E-mail: jmlwitte@aol.com