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The University of Stuttgart Institute of Human Factors and Technology Management IAT, Fraunhofer IAO and ver.di b+b have collaboratively published a study on learners’ needs and preconditions for digitally supported learning for statutory employee representation volunteers, including staff and works councils members. The study provides answers to the key question how digitally supported learning environments can be developed for statutory employee representatives and other (voluntary) employees of non-profit organizations with similar working conditions.

With one Best Paper Award and two Honorable Mention Papers 2022, Fraunhofer IAO can look back on a successful outcome at the Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics Conference (AHFE), which took place on July 24–28, 2022. As well as contributing papers to the conference, Fraunhofer IAO also acted as the chair.

Using AI-based speech analysis and gaming technologies for real-time rendering for visualization, Fraunhofer IAO has developed a digital twin of the namesake of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Joseph von Fraunhofer, which it presented for the first time at the second Stuttgart Science Festival. The avatar shows, for example, the various possible applications of these surprisingly lifelike virtual characters in the future metaverse.

To ensure that the key technology of quantum computing becomes established in the German economy as quickly as possible, Fraunhofer IAO and Fraunhofer IAF are refining their quantum computing training program for participants from industry and research and playing an active part in the growing innovation ecosystem in Ehningen near Stuttgart.

How will office and knowledge work change in the coming years, and what impact will these changes have on the working environment? In the new “Beyond multispace” study from the Office 21^® innovation network, Fraunhofer IAO provides forward-thinking perspectives on office environments, based on the altered requirements for office spaces and buildings in the urban context between now and 2030.

How will we work in a post-Covid-19 world? After six months of intensive project work, the “Connected Work Innovation Hub” study report now provides answers to this question. The innovative project network developed joint ideas and trend-setting action models for a new hybrid working world.

How have demands and expectations of the work environment changed due to working from home? The results of the “Work-from-home experience 2.0” online study conducted by Fraunhofer IAO as part of the Office 21® innovation network highlight motivational factors for returning to the office and provide guidance for shaping the post-pandemic working world.

Whether as proof of vaccination, test or recovery, many different types of COVID certificate have been issued around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. These rely on different centralized verification systems, both small and large, and are based on different technical standards and guidelines. The GCCN Trust Registry Network aims to ensure the reliable interoperability of these ecosystems on a global scale. The solution could also serve as a blueprint for other certificates.

As more and more people start to use smart health trackers for personal and medical purposes, there is a growing need for transparency in order to protect this highly sensitive health data. In the TESTER project, Fraunhofer IAO is working with the IAT at the University of Stuttgart as well as the University of Kassel and Actimi GmbH to investigate new user-centered solutions for self-tracking software.

Effective April 1, 2022, Univ.-Prof. Katharina Hölzle, MBA, will join the steering committee of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO and assume the position of director of the cooperating Institute of Human Factors and Technology Management IAT at the University of Stuttgart. She will succeed Prof. Dieter Spath who retired in October 2021.