Birgit Lehner has successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled “Autonomous Robotics in Inpatient Care – Challenges for the Healthcare Sector in the Third Millennium”, making her the second doctoral candidate at the PZSGT. In her thesis, she analyses the technical, ethical, legal and social issues surrounding the use of autonomous robotics in inpatient care, with a particular focus on denominational hospitals. A key focus is on the acceptance of such technologies: to this end, Lehner conducted a comprehensive survey among staff and patients and, building on this, developed a concept for the introduction of autonomous systems.
The doctoral thesis, which was written whilst working full-time, combines academic depth with practical relevance. Lehner works at the Barmherzige Brüder Hospital and applies her research directly in practice.
The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr Karsten Weber (first examiner, OTH Regensburg) and Prof. Dr Sonja Haug (second examiner, OTH Regensburg).
PZSGT: Successful collaboration between three universities
The PZSGT is a joint doctoral centre run by OTH Regensburg, Munich University of Applied Sciences (HM) and the Georg Simon Ohm University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg, with OTH Regensburg serving as the host institution.
Strictly speaking, Birgit Lehner’s PhD is therefore already the second successful PhD awarded within the framework of the PZSGT: the centre’s first PhD was completed at Munich University of Applied Sciences as early as 11 June 2026. In his dissertation, PhD candidate Çağan Varol examined the interplay between migration, urban development and social negotiation processes. The thesis was supervised by Professor Gabriele Fischer of Munich University of Applied Sciences as the first examiner and Prof. Dr. habil. Clarissa Rudolph of OTH Regensburg as the second examiner.
The close collaboration between the three universities exemplifies how universities of applied sciences pool their research activities and provide targeted support for early-career researchers.
Doctorates at the PZAI
The latest doctorates highlight the dynamic development of the doctoral centres at OTH Regensburg. The first doctorates were successfully completed at the Doctoral Centre for Applied Computer Science (PZAI) a year ago.
The university is thus consistently driving forward the expansion of independent research structures and strengthening its role as a high-performing research hub in the field of applied sciences.
You can find more information about the doctoral centres here!
