Five Universities of Applied Sciences have joined forces and officially started the Professional Doctorate Technology & Digitization (PD T&D) in April 2023. With the IMPULS Kwaliteitszorg, we build a joint quality framework for the PD T&D taking into account the different nuances of the Universities of Applied Sciences and the various PD issues. We build an active PD community, bring together lecturers, researchers and field partners, develop a domain-specific Body of Knowledge and Skills and position the PD T&D nationally as a recognized and distinctive program alongside the existing EngD and PhD with added value for the professional field.

From conversations with various public service providers, it appears that in regular work processes and client systems that offer large-scale services, the ‘Human Dimension’ is often still insufficiently provided. This is socially undesirable, a significant concern for the national government, and often leads to the escalation of complex questions into customized solutions. Digital applications are often seen as an obstacle to providing this human dimension, but organizations are curious about the opportunities they present. Therefore, in this research, we will work together with public service providers to explore actionable perspectives for professionals towards scalable, digital, and humane services.

In the HAICu-project, AI researchers, Digital-Humanities researchers, heritage professionals, journalists and engaged citizens work together to realize scientific breakthroughs in accessibility and contextualization of massive multimodal digital heritage collections. The challenges of these collections offer a unique opportunity to bring AI to the next level. Future AI technologies should be applicable outside of laboratories and be able to learn from sparse examples, at the same time learning continuously from users. The technology of HAICu pays attention to present-day societal demands with respect to responsible and explainable methods to the construct multimodal narratives from the Netherlands’ rich cultural heritage collections.