Teaching

The group teaches in the computer science programmes of TU Clausthal; current dates and registration are on the institute’s official course pages at www.ifi-hcis.tu-clausthal.de.

Courses

• Human-Machine Interaction (MMI) (Summer semester 2026, 6 ECTS): A well-designed system is critical to its acceptance by end users. The course teaches students how to design a socio-technical system while always keeping the future end user in mind. During the course, students will work on a project that applies the course content on data collection, prototyping, and evaluation. Course page
• Serious Games (Summer semester 2026, 6 ECTS): The “Serious Games” course focuses on games that serve a “serious” purpose, such as imparting knowledge or providing motor skills training. In addition to examples, the course covers topics including game theory, game elements, human learning, and motivation. Course page
• Fundamentals of Programming (Winter semester 2026/27, 6 ECTS): The ability to program is often described as an essential skill that everyone should master. This course is designed for economics students and provides an introductory overview of programming. During the course, students will learn to write their own small programs, thereby expanding their ability to communicate with computers. Course page
• Cooperation Systems (Winter semester 2026/27, 6 ECTS): Successful collaborative work requires coordination and communication. Working together becomes more difficult when it takes place digitally and across distances. The lecture addresses the challenges of collaborative systems, such as coordination, awareness, and learning in organizations. The theories and principles presented are put into practice through an accompanying project. Course page
• Seminar: Theories of Human-Computer Interaction and their Application in Practice (Winter semester (annual), 3 ECTS): This annual seminar covers a variety of topics related to current developments in the field of ubiquitous computing. Students analyze academic papers, conduct literature reviews, and present their findings in the seminar. Course page

Theses

We supervise Bachelor and Master theses in six topic areas; the open topics are listed on this site and own proposals in these fields are welcome.

What the exposé contains

For scientific theses it is customary to prepare a detailed written concept, an exposé, in advance. It convinces potential supervisors of the relevance of the topic, and it helps the authors identify a research gap, assess risks and estimate the effort realistically.

1. Problem. Which (scientific-theoretical) problem is at the centre of the thesis? What is the thematic orientation of the study?
2. State of research. Which findings already exist? Where are research gaps or open problems? Are there contradictory or competing explanations? Which key publications are relevant?
3. Research question. Which central research question should be answered? Which sub-questions follow from it?
4. Research interest. What scientific, societal or ethical significance does answering the question have? What added value can the study provide?
5. Objective or hypothesis. What should the thesis achieve, prove or refute? Formulating main and working hypotheses sharpens the problem.
6. Theoretical basis. Which explanations, theories or models serve as the foundation, and why were they chosen? What forms the theoretical framework?
7. Method. Which methods or procedures are used to investigate the problem or answer the question, and why? For empirical work, explain and justify the study design and data collection.
8. Material. Which literature and secondary data are available? Which primary material will be collected? What preliminary work has been done?
9. Preliminary outline. In which order, in which thematic contexts and in what scope should the individual aspects be treated?

For empirical theses the chair recommends a robust methodological approach, in particular Design-Based Research (DBR) and Design Case Studies. Recommended reading: Peter Reimann: Design-based Research – Methodological Choice and Design; Volker Wulf et al.: Engaging with Practices: Design Case Studies as a Research Framework in CSCW.