Latest News
09.10.2026
From Vision to Impact: A Farewell to Prof. Dr. Dr. Friedrich W. Hesse
Photo: CATALPA
The CATALPA Research Center held a symposium to honor its founding director and look toward the future.
29.09.2026
A Strong Presence at KONVENS and a Key Question
Photo: Henrik Schipper, Hardy Welsch
How can you actually tell if a linguistic analysis is “correct” when even experts can’t agree? This very question was a central theme at this year’s KONVENS in Hamburg. Torsten Zesch, CATALPA Research Professor of Computational Linguistics, and his team were represented at KONVENS 2026 in Hamburg with four presentations at the main conference and another at the Klartext workshop on clear and simple language.
18.09.2026
DFG Liaison Officer: "My virtual door is always open"
Photo: Volker Wiciok
Torsten Zesch is the new Liaison Officer for the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) at FernUni: In addition to the wide range of services offered by the Research and Graduate Services, he serves as a personal point of contact for the academic community – especially for researchers in the early stages of their careers.
24.07.2026
CATALPA Lecture Series with Tobias Ley
Photo: Daniel Novotny
Intelligent systems need intelligent teachers in hybrid intelligent systems: That is a key message from Prof. Dr. Tobias Ley in his upcoming presentation. On November 25, he will be a guest speaker at the CATALPA Lecture Series. The event begins at 4:00 p.m. in Building 5, Room B103.
20.07.2026
CATALPA Lecture Series with Yizhou Fan
Photo: privat
Does generative AI improve learning – or merely performance? That was the topic of our CATALPA Lecture Series. Our guest speaker was Yizhou Fan, Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Education at Peking University.
10.07.2026
How Is Artificial Intelligence Changing the University as an Organization?
Photo: Hardy Welsch
Generative AI has quickly made its way into lectures, seminars, and administrative offices – but what does this actually mean for higher education? The CATALPA research project AIM-HE is exploring this question. Dr. Len-Ole Schäfer and Tiana Tschache provide insights into the project.
21.06.2026
Advisory Board Recognizes CATALPA’s Impressive Progress
Photo: CATALPA
What scientific advances have been made at CATALPA? What research topics and methods are currently being focused on? The international Scientific Advisory Board recently gathered information on these topics.
03.06.2026
CATALPA Lecture Series with Tamara van Gog
Photo: CATALPA
How can self-directed learning be fostered in online learning settings? This was the focus of a presentation by CATALPA Advisory Board member Tamara van Gog of Utrecht University on May 7.
18.05.2026
CATALPA at LAK26: Award, five workshops, and a strong presence
Photo: Privat
LAK26—the international conference of the learning analytics community—was a particular success for CATALPA this year: With five co-organized workshops, presentations at the Doctoral Consortium, posters, and participation in specialized workshops, the team made its presence felt in several areas. The event culminated in the team receiving a prestigious award.
28.04.2026
Learning from crises: Future impulses for higher education
Photo: Hardy Welsch/Privat
The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and the CATALPA Research Center hosted an event to mark the conclusion of the OrA and ORC research projects, bringing together participants to discuss crisis-resilient and future-proof higher education institutions. Under the title “Learning from Crises: Impulses for the Future of Higher Education,” CATALPA and HIIG researchers provided insights into the practical significance of their research.
10.04.2026
Exploring Language Learning with DAKODA
Photo: Frank H. - stock.adobe.com
How do people learn German? The CATALPA project DAKODA helps researchers find out more.
13.03.2026
CATALPA Lecture Series: Roland Klemke on Multimodal Immersive Learning Systems
Photo: CATALPA
Multimodal Immersive Learning Systems - Technologies for cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning support: This was the topic of the third edition of the CATALPA Lecture Series with Prof. Dr. Roland Klemke in the Immersive Collaboration Hub (ICH) at FernUni.
