As part of the PRISM Conference 2026 “AI as Researcher, Resource, and Rival,” more than 80 students, researchers, founders and professors from Münster, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Braunschweig, Magdeburg and Bonn gathered at the Juridicum on September 23. The panel was moderated by Dr. Matthias Kiel (REACH). The conference was organized by Prof. Dr. David Bendig and Prof. Dr. Verena Rieger.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved a joint research project by Prof. Dr. Markus Dertwinkel-Kalt and Prof. Dr. Christian Wey from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). Over the next three years, the two economists will investigate how current energy and climate policy measures affect markets, companies and consumers.

Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) bewilligt ein gemeinsames Forschungsprojekt von Prof. Dr. Markus Dertwinkel-Kalt und Prof. Dr. Christian Wey von der HHU Düsseldorf. In den kommenden drei Jahren untersuchen die beiden Ökonomen, wie aktuelle energie- und klimapolitische Maßnahmen auf Märkte, Unternehmen und Verbraucher wirken.

Im Rahmen der PRISM Conference 2026 „AI as Researcher, Resource, and Rival“ kamen am 23. September über 80 Studierende, Forschende, Gründer:innen und Professor:innen aus Münster, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Braunschweig, Magdeburg und Bonn im Juridicum zusammen. Organisiert wurde die Konferenz von Prof. Dr. David Bendig und Prof. Dr. Verena Rieger.
 

The Legal and Administrative Informatics Conference (RVI) was held on September 24–25, 2026, at TU Dresden as part of the Informatics Festival and in conjunction with the GI Annual Conference INFORMATIK.

Michael Räckers from the Department of Information Systems at the University of Münster organized the conference together with Gunnar Auth (HSF Meißen) and Tim Pidun (HTW Dresden). The event brought together approximately 100 participants. In cooperation with the Informatics Festival, the organizing team also helped shape the overarching theme, “Digital Resilience,” and was responsible for part of the main conference program. Michael Räckers also moderated the panel “Digital Resilience and Sovereignty – Boosters for Innovative Administration and State Modernization?”

The conference also included the annual general meeting of the GI Special Interest Group on Administrative Informatics. After nine years as the group’s spokesperson, Michael Räckers handed over the role to his successor, Gunnar Auth. Tim Pidun and Vera Spitzer (University of Koblenz) were elected deputy spokespersons.

Michael Räckers will remain a member of the group’s steering committee. Michael Koddebusch from the Department of Information Systems was also newly elected to the committee. The University of Münster is therefore represented by two members on the committee.

The 2026 Legal and Administrative Informatics Conference focused on the challenges of digital transformation in public administration, which is unfolding amid pressure to innovate, rule-of-law requirements, and geopolitical and technological dependencies. The conference explored digital resilience and digital sovereignty both as concepts for protection and stability and as potential drivers or barriers to innovation in public administration. It brought together legal, technical, and organizational perspectives and provided an interdisciplinary forum for exchange between academia and practice.

from left to right: Tim Pidun, Vera Spitzer, Gunnar Auth, Michael Räckers

Was passiert mit den öffentlichen Einnahmen aus dem Pkw-Verkehr, wenn immer mehr Menschen auf Elektroautos umsteigen? Eine aktuelle Studie von Prof. Dr. Gernot Sieg, Leiter des Instituts für Verkehrswissenschaften (IVM) der Universität Münster, Maria Kennel, ebenfalls IVM, und Berthold Wigger, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, untersucht verschiedene Modelle zur künftigen Finanzierung des motorisierten Individualverkehrs. Die Ergebnisse wurden von zahlreichen Medien aufgegriffen.

The 21st International Conference on Information Systems (WI 2026) took place from September 6 to 10, 2026, at Johannes Kepler University Linz in Austria. Under the theme “Sociotechnical Systems in the Age of AI,” the conference focused on how artificial intelligence is changing the use of technology and the role of humans in business contexts. The conference brought together researchers and practitioners and provided a platform for exchanging ideas on current developments in Information Systems. In addition to academic contributions, the event also emphasized networking within the community.

Staff and students from the Department of Information Systems at the University of Münster were also represented with numerous contributions. A total of six papers were presented, covering topics including digital transformation, digital solutions for the circular economy, and digital product passports: 

• “Tool Adoption in Systematic Literature Reviews: An Empirical Investigation of the Review Process” (Näscher, Hans-Henning; Strohmann, Timo; vom Brocke, Jan) 

• “Why Overcoming Does Not Work: A Configurational Reconceptualization of the Barrier Construct in Digital Transformation Research” (Poppe, Celine; Koddebusch, Michael; Brandt, Tobias) 

• “Digital Solutions for Improving Circularity in Textile Recycling” (Reichert, Nicole; Sander, Marie; Stanlein, David) 

• “Generation Z Consumer Preferences for Digital Product Passport Attributes” (Herold, Tim Lukas; Montsch, Celine; Stanlein, David) 

• “ReuseMe: A DSR Study on Simplifying Local Donation and Reuse” (Khidirboev, Uroljon; Khudoyberdiev, Isroil; Koddebusch, Michael) 

• “The Influence of Explainable AI on Bias in Decision-Making Processes” (Vahland, Carolin Elisabeth; Burger, Mara) 

It is particularly noteworthy that three of the presented papers by Nicole Reichert, Marie Sander, Tim Lukas Herold, Celine Montsch, Uroljon Khidirboev, and Isroil Khudoyberdiev emerged from the master’s seminar “Digital Enablers of the Circular Economy” and were accepted as full papers in regular tracks. 

In addition, Michael Koddebusch co-chaired the track “Smart Cities & Digital Government” together with Bettina Distel and Tobias Guggenberger (University of Bayreuth). 

Mehr als 10.000 Studieninteressierte besuchen jedes Jahr den Hochschultag Münster. In diesem Jahr findet er am 12. November statt und die Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät ist natürlich dabei: In einer  interaktiven Reise erfahren Studieninteressierte alles über unsere Studiengänge. Studierende der Fachschaften beantworten Fragen in einem Q&A auf Augenhöhe. Einblicke in die Praxis bietet ein BWL-Planspiel. Auch für Eltern haben wir eine Info- und Frage-Session im Programm. Die Anmeldung ist ab sofort freigeschaltet, die Plätze sind begrenzt.

At the Falling Walls Lab Münster 2026, Dr. Lea Püchel from the Department of Information Systems placed second. On September 11, eight early-career researchers presented their research and startup ideas in three-minute pitches in English at the REACH – Euregio Start-up Center. In her research, Lea Püchel examines how digital documentation software in childcare centers affects trust between educators and parents. Building on this, she is developing software designed to provide educators with guidance and greater legal certainty when handling data.

Beim Falling Walls Lab Münster 2026 hat Dr. Lea Püchel vom Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik den zweiten Platz belegt. Am 11. September präsentierten acht Nachwuchswissenschaftler*innen im REACH – Euregio-Start-up Center in dreiminütigen englischsprachigen Pitches ihre Forschungs- und Gründungsideen. In ihrer Forschung untersucht Lea Püchel, wie digitale Dokumentationssoftware in Kindertagesstätten das Vertrauen zwischen Erzieher*innen und Eltern verändert. Darauf aufbauend entwickelt sie eine Software, die dem pädagogischen Personal Orientierung und Rechtssicherheit im Umgang mit Daten geben soll.

At the Falling Walls Lab Münster 2026, Dr. Lea Püchel from the Department of Information Systems placed second with her pitch titled “Breaking the Wall of Data Dependency.” On September 11, eight early-career researchers presented their research and startup ideas in three-minute pitches in English at the REACH – Euregio Start-up Center.

In her research, Lea Püchel examines how digital documentation software in childcare centers affects trust between educators and parents. Building on this, she is developing software designed to provide educators with guidance and greater legal certainty when handling data.

The Falling Walls Lab is an international initiative of the Berlin-based Falling Walls Foundation. In just three minutes, early-career researchers pitch ideas with the potential to create a positive impact on society. The winners of the local competitions qualify for the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin.

© Uni MS - Nike Gais

In the ‘Let's have a slice of poppy seed cake’ column of the university newspaper wissen|leben, staff from the Communications and Public Relations Unit visit university employees for each issue to talk to them about what makes their workplace special. In an interview, Olga Lunina, Head of the International Relations Centre at the School of Business and Economics, explains why she has always wanted to work in an international context and what she particularly values about her adopted home, Münster.

In der Rubrik "Auf ein Stück Mohnkuchen" der Unizeitung wissen|leben besuchen Mitarbeiter:innen der Stabsstelle Kommunikation und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit für jede Ausgabe Universitätsbeschäftigte, um mit ihnen über Besonderheiten ihres Arbeitsplatzes zu sprechen. Olga Lunina, Leiterin des International Relations Centers der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät, berichtet im Interview, warum sie schon immer im internationalen Kontext arbeiten wollte und was sie an ihrer Wahl-Heimat Münster besonders schätzt.

In der aktuellen Sonderausgabe der Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, welche sich mit "Verhaltensökonomik in der Wirtschaftspolitik" beschäftigt, sind zwei Beiträge des Lehrstuhls zu finden. Markus Dertwinkel-Kalt und Matthias Sutter beschäftigen sich in "Warum finanzielle Anreize verpuffen: Verhaltensökonomische Perspektiven auf wirtschaftspolitische Maßnahmen in der Energiekrise" mit der Frage inwiefern finanzielle Anreize in Krisensituationen verpuffen und was stattdessen wirksamer sein kann.

Kristina Magnussen and Rainer Böhme have received the best paper award for their paper "Personal Data Accuracy is a Blind Spot in LLM Privacy Research" at the Annual Privacy Forum 2026. 

The paper highlights an underexplored aspect of privacy research for Large Language Models (LLMs): personal data accuracy. LLMs are the technology behind AI chatbots. It is a known problem that they sometimes generate text that is nonsensical, false or might contain fabricated facts. This can also happen when data about natural persons is generated. The opinon paper draws attention to these personal data accuracy failures as an important, but often overlooked aspect of privacy. The authors link them to legal principles, propose a taxonomy to classify them, and give directions for future research.

The paper was written in the context of the SMARD-GOV project and funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

Links related to this news
You can read the paper here (open access). 

Projekt SMARD-GOV

Prof. Dr Nadine Riedel, Head of the Institute for Public and Regional Economics, has been elected as the new President of the International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF) with effect from 2027. The Institute was founded in Paris in 1937 and, with around 600 members from 50 countries, is today regarded as the world’s leading association for public finance. Her election was announced at the end of August at the Institute’s annual conference in Lisbon, where she also delivered a keynote speech on the topic ‘Corporate Taxation in Normal Times and in Turmoil: What Do We (Not) Know?’

Prof. Dr. Nadine Riedel, Leiterin des Instituts für Wirtschaftspolitik und Regionalökonomik, ist zur neuen Präsidentin des International Institutes of Public Finance (IIPF) ab 2027 gewählt worden. Das Institut wurde 1937 in Paris gegründet und gilt heute mit rund 600 Mitgliedern aus 50 Ländern als führender Weltverband der Finanzwissenschaften. Ihre Wahl wurde Ende August auf der Jahrestagung des Instituts in Lissabon bekannt gegeben, auf der sie auch eine Keynote zum Thema "Corporate Taxation in Normal Times and in Turmoil: What Do We (Not) Know?" gehalten hat.

From August 28 to 30, Münster celebrated the 80th anniversary of North Rhine-Westphalia. Under the motto “Democracy lives. Diversity connects.”, NRW Day 2026 offered numerous opportunities to experience the diversity of the state and explore different aspects of society, science, and culture. The Department of Information Systems was also represented with a booth at the Science Mile.

In Part 27 of the Alumni Stories series, we introduce Carolin Kremer-Ebenau and Thorsten van der Velten. Both began their academic and professional careers at the University of Münster and were actively involved in the WiWi student council during their studies. While Carolin Kremer-Ebenau studied Economics, Thorsten van der Velten pursued a degree in Business Administration. Today, both work in the non-profit sector. In the double interview, Carolin Kremer-Ebenau and Thorsten van der Velten talk about their current roles, their transition from the private sector to the non-profit sector, formative experiences, and their memories of their time as students in Münster.

In Teil 27 der Alumni Stories stellen wir Carolin Kremer-Ebenau und Thorsten van der Velten vor. Beide begannen ihre akademische und berufliche Laufbahn an der Universität Münster und engagierten sich während ihres Studiums in der Fachschaft Wiwi. Während Carolin Kremer-Ebenau Volkswirtschaftslehre studierte, absolvierte Thorsten van der Velten ein Studium der Betriebswirtschaftslehre. Heute arbeiten beide im Non-Profit-Bereich. Im Doppelinterview sprechen sie über ihre aktuellen Aufgaben, den Wechsel von der Privatwirtschaft in den Non-Profit-Bereich, prägende Erfahrungen und ihre Erinnerungen an die Studienzeit in Münster.