DiCoLab
Research project DiCoLab:
The future of digital working and learning in international networks
The research project "DiCoLab - Digital Working and Learning in International Collaboration Networks" officially began on 1 January 2025. Together with seven other partners from research and industry, the University of Wuppertal (BUW) is realising this pioneering project. The project team led by Prof. Dr. Stefan Diestel, Dr. Patrik Fröhlich and Janine Esser (M.Sc.) from the Chair of Work, Organizational and Business Psychology (AOW) and the Centre for Transformation Research and Sustainability (TransZent) is significantly involved in the realisation of the project.
The primary aim of DiCoLab is to develop and test an innovative competence and collaboration platform that supports manufacturing companies in particular in making their work and learning processes sustainable. The focus is on improving international collaboration and overcoming the challenges of global supply chains. The project's integrative approach is based on international innovation ecosystems and aims to make value chains more resilient and sustainable. The project combines scientific findings with practical solutions that are designed and trialled as part of participatory living lab processes. The central focus here is on the requirements of small and medium-sized enterprises in order to be able to comprehensively promote their collaboration and innovation processes in terms of their competitiveness. By integrating modern digital technologies (such as augmented and virtual reality as well as artificial intelligence) and closely interlinking theory and practice, DiCoLab opens up new perspectives for collaboration in international networks. In this way, the project contributes to shaping the "future of value creation" and supports companies in integrating digital working, learning and collaboration more effectively into their structures.
Kick-off for the research project
The kick-off event for the project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the European Union and supervised by the Karlsruhe Project Management Agency (PTKA) from Karlsruhe, took place on 13 February 2025 with representatives of the eight funded project partners and the participation of the project management agency. The meeting focussed on the presentation of the project objectives, the time schedule and the targeted milestones. Particular attention was also paid to the insights into the practical application of DiCoLab by the industrial partners. These provided exciting suggestions for possible use cases that are important for the realisation of the project. The final workshop focussed intensively on the experiences and perspectives of users in order to further refine and optimise the design of the platform being developed in the project from a practical perspective. With this promising start, DICoLab is laying the foundations for a successful future of digital work and learning in international networks.
The project "Digital Collaboration in International Networks: A Competence Platform for Manufacturing Companies (DiCoLab)" is funded by the BMBF and the European Union via the European Social Fund Plus (ESF Plus) as part of the "Future of Work" programme and managed by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA).
Duration:
01.2025 - 12.2027
Partner:
Forschungsgemeinschaft Werkzeuge und Werkstoffe e.V
Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie gGmbH
