A Fireside Chat on Tradition and Family Business
At the heart of the evening was a Kamingespräch between Prof. Dr. Hannes Rothe and Dr. Stauder. Since 1867, the name Stauder has stood for brewing in Essen. As an independent family business now in its sixth generation, the brewery offered a rich starting point for the conversation. Personally and with a good deal of humour, Dr. Stauder shared what it takes to preserve craft and character over such a long period of time, and how a family brewery holds its own in a demanding and consolidating market.

An Impulse from Research: How AI Shapes Entrepreneurial Innovation
The evening opened with an impulse by Prof. Dr. Hannes Rothe on how artificial intelligence is reshaping entrepreneurial innovation processes. His talk set the stage by connecting current research to concrete questions of practice, exactly the bridge between academia and industry that the RIS After Work Exchange is designed to build.

Networking Over a Cold Stauder Beer
After the fireside chat, the evening moved into an open Get Together. Over a cold Stauder beer, participants continued the discussion in a more informal setting. This is what the format is all about: good conversations, new contacts, and an honest exchange after work, in an atmosphere that makes it easy to connect across research, industry, and student life.

About the RIS After Work Exchange
The RIS After Work Exchange is a recurring evening series at the Rhine-Ruhr Institute of Information Systems that brings research and practice together in a relaxed setting. The next edition will feature Prof. Dr. Ralf Plattfaut. Anyone who would like to take part is welcome to get in touch to be added to our mailing list for upcoming events.

On June 23, 2026, the Process Innovation and Automation Lab (PIA Lab) at the University of Duisburg-Essen opened its doors as part of the Essen Science Summer 2026. Under the title "AI Meets HR Processes: A Hands-On Look Into the Lab," around nine participants spent 2.5 hours exploring the future of human resources work in the age of artificial intelligence — practical, interactive, and free of charge.

What AI Can Do — and What It Cannot Replace

The event centered on a key question: Which tasks in HR processes can machines genuinely take over today — and which human competencies become not obsolete, but more important as a result? Speaker Jannis Nacke, together with student assistant Frederik Ernst, walked attendees step by step through a typical manual HR workflow before demonstrating live how AI tools can support, accelerate, or transform that same process. In front of the audience, the two built automations and AI workflows from scratch — making the technology tangible and immediately visible.

Program of the Evening

The afternoon was structured in three phases: After a welcome and an introduction explaining why HR processes make an ideal testing ground for AI applications, participants collectively reconstructed a typical manual HR workflow. The third segment brought everything together with a hands-on demonstration directly in the lab — a format designed to bridge theory and practice in real time.

Part of the Essen Science Summer 2026

The event was embedded in this year's Science Summer, held under the overarching theme "Future Skills — Human Competencies in the Context of Change and New Technologies." The PIA Lab used the platform to make research tangible and to foster dialogue between academia, industry, and the general public.

From 8 to 10 June 2026, the 21st International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology (DESRIST 2026) took place in Münster, chaired by Prof. Jan vom Brocke. Under the theme "Design for Better Futures: Beyond the Science of the Artificial", the conference brought together the international Design Science Research community to discuss how design can contribute to sustainable and livable futures.

Our team was represented with two contributions. Jannis Nacke presented the Research-in-Progress paper "Designing Process Mining to Mitigate Electronic Performance Monitoring Risks", co-authored with Prof. Dr. Ralf Plattfaut and Prof. Dr. Dr. René Riedl, which explores how Process Mining systems can be designed so that process transparency is experienced as supportive rather than as surveillance. Our external Ph.D. student Peter Alois Francois presented the Research-in-Progress paper "Designing a Socio-Technical Support System for Reuse in Low-Code Development: An Echeloned Design Science Research Study", co-authored with Marlon Kampmann, Prof. Dr. Ralf Plattfaut, and Prof. Dr. André Coners. Both papers are published in the DESRIST 2026 proceedings by Springer.

Gestern fand ein Gastvortrag von Smart Automation-Experten von Yellow Automation in unserem Mastermodul Managing Digital Transformation statt. 

Steffen Graf, Geschäftsführer von Yellow Automation und Henry Bohnen, Senior Developer Smart Automation, erläuterten, wie bei Yellow Automation mithilfe von modernster Robotic Process Automation-Technologie (RPA) wiederkehrende, manuelle Prozesse der Muttergesellschaft Commerzbank in effiziente, stabile, automatisierte Systeme transformiert werden. 

Hierbei wurde den Studierenden ein tiefer Einblick in die Praxis vermittelt. Der Vortrag machte deutlich, wie durch Robotic Process Automation nicht nur messbare Effizienzgewinne erzielt werden können, sondern auch ein wirksamer Beitrag zur Bewältigung von Herausforderungen wie dem demographischen Wandel geleistet wird, der für Unternehmen mit der Verrentung einer hohen Anzahl erfahrener Beschäftigter verbunden ist. Dabei wurde deutlich, welche zentrale Rolle Prozessautomatisierung einnimmt, um zahlreiche Geschäftsprozesse in Unternehmen effizient und skalierbar zu optimieren. In diesem Kontext wurden auch die Potenziale digitaler Trends wie (Agentic) Artificial Intelligence mit den Studierenden intensiv diskutiert.

Wir bedanken uns sehr herzlich bei den Guest Lecturers für die spannenden Einblicke in die Praxis und das große Interesse der Studierenden!

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Yesterday, there was a guest lecture by smart automation experts from Yellow Automation in our master’s module Managing Digital Transformation. 

The students were given a deep insight into the practical applications of process automation. Steffen Graf and Henry Bohnen explained how at Yellow Automation, a subsidiary of Commerzbank, recurring, manual processes are transformed into efficient, automated systems using state-of-the-art Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology. The lecture made it clear that Robotic Process Automation not only achieves measurable efficiency gains but also makes a significant contribution to meeting contemporary challenges such as ongoing demographic shifts, which, for companies, is associated with the retirement of a large number of experienced employees.

Furthermore, it became clear what a central role process automation plays in efficiently optimizing numerous business processes at scale across an organization. In this context, the potentials of digital trends such as (agentic) artificial intelligence were also intensively discussed with the students. 

We sincerely thank the guest lecturers for the exciting insights into practice and the great interest of the students!

We are pleased to invite you to the following guest lectures.

The event will take place on 20 May 2026 from 10:00 to 12:00 in room R09 R01 H02.

The event features two talks: The first talk is titled “Qualitative Methods: How Researchers Crack Human Puzzles”. The second lecture addresses the topic “How to use AI in Qualitative Research”.

We are pleased to welcome Dr Michael Price and Dr Mike Russell as speakers.

Dr Michael Price is Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University in the United Kingdom. He has been with Northumbria University since 2020 and previously held academic positions at the University of Leeds and Newcastle University. His academic background includes degrees from the University of Hull, the University of Nottingham, and Newcastle University. His research lies at the intersection of business ethics, governance, and social and ethical finance. He has published in leading international journals, including Business History, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Voluntas, and the International Journal of Entrepreneurship Behavior & Research.

Dr Mike Russell is Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. His research focuses on the disruptive potential of blockchain technology and its applications. These include education in the metaverse, distributed finance, supply chain traceability and verification in areas such as fisheries and cocoa, as well as social philanthropy. He holds a PhD in “A Graded Interface for Novice/Expert Interaction” from the University of Wales, a Master’s degree in International Business Administration from Nyenrode Business Universiteit, and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of South Wales.

Am 18.05.2026 begrüßen wir Experten von Yellow Automation zu einem Gastvortrag zum Thema „Digital Process Transformation & Smart Automation“. Der Vortrag findet im Rahmen des Master-Moduls „Managing Digital Transformation“ statt, ist aber für alle Studierenden der Wirtschaftsinformatik geöffnet.

Raum: R09 R04 H02
Termin: 18.05.2026, 10:00-11:30 Uhr

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On 18th of May, experts from Yellow Automation will give a guest lecture on "Digital Process Transformation & Smart Automation". The lecture takes place within the master's module "Managing Digital Transformation" but is open to all students of information systems.

Room: R09 R04 H02
Date: 18th of May, 2026, 10:00-11:30 am 

We are excited to announce an upcoming event at the Process Innovation and Automation Lab (PIA Lab) at the University of Duisburg-Essen. The event will focus on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming Human Resources (HR) processes and the growing importance of human competencies in this evolving landscape. The event is part of the Essener Wirtschaftssommer.

Event Overview

Event Title: AI Meets HR Processes: A Hands-On Look Inside the Lab
Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Time: 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Location: PIA Lab, University of Duisburg-Essen, Campus Essen
Entry: Free (Registration required)

Why AI in HR?

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping HR practices. But how exactly does it change HR processes? Which tasks will AI take over, and which human skills will remain essential? Join us for a hands-on demonstration and see AI applications in HR in action.

Agenda

4:00 PM: Introduction to AI in HR – Why HR processes are the perfect field for AI exploration.
4:30 PM: Reconstructing a traditional HR process – A deep dive into today’s manual workflow.
5:00 PM: Live Demo – Witness step by step how AI can transform HR processes.

Register on Eventbrite

The Process Innovation and Automation Lab (PIA Lab) has launched a new platform that gives students free access to a range of digital tools and practice-oriented content.

Hosted on a local university server, the platform includes tools such as n8n, ERPNext, and Whisper, as well as space for student blog posts, project opportunities, and further content related to business information systems. The goal is to enable students to experiment with relevant technologies in a practical way without needing to set up their own infrastructure or pay for external services.

The platform is already available and can be accessed via the university network, either through VPN or campus Wi-Fi.

This new offering is intended to make practical digital tools more accessible and to strengthen applied learning opportunities for students.

Introducing young people to the world of technology early on is one of the most effective ways to inspire the next generation of digital thinkers. Providing hands-on experiences where abstract concepts become tangible is key to making that inspiration last.

The PIA Lab participated in this year's Girls Day with a workshop titled "Die Welt der digitalen Geschäftsprozesse" at the University of Duisburg-Essen. The event brought together a group of young women for an afternoon of learning, building, and experimenting with real digital tools.

The workshop focused on the fundamentals of digital business processes, APIs, and AI agents. Using approachable metaphors and visual storytelling, participants were guided through the logic of how modern automated systems work, from receiving a request to delivering a result.

The highlight of the day was a collaborative hands-on project: the participants designed and built their own AI-powered concert ticket finder using n8n. The system consisted of multiple AI agents working together, from understanding the user's input, to querying ticket providers via API, to delivering the result in a structured format. Participants first sketched the workflow on paper before bringing it to life digitally.

The event demonstrated that complex topics like automation and artificial intelligence can be made accessible and engaging for young audiences. The enthusiasm and creativity shown by the participants throughout the workshop were a strong signal of the potential that lies in early, practice-oriented technology education.

We would like to thank all participants for their energy and curiosity that made this Girls Day a great success.