Drone-based traffic monitoring, thermal Earth observation via satellite constellations, causal analysis of heatwaves, language models with structural fairness issues – the programme for the sixth ‘Women in Data Science Regensburg’ (WiDS Regensburg) event at the Jahnstadion on 18 June demonstrated that: Data science is no longer confined to academia alone, but addresses the most pressing social and economic issues of our time. With around 160 participants, the conference was fully booked again this year. Numerous regional companies supported WiDS Regensburg.
What began in 2021 as a regional offshoot of a Stanford initiative is now a fixture on the calendar of the region’s data science community. WiDS Regensburg has established itself as the event that brings together methodological depth and industrial application – and in doing so has positioned Regensburg as a major centre for data science.
This year, six female scientists from academia and industry, including Prof. Dr Simone Bracher from OTH Regensburg, addressed a range of topics that reflect the breadth of modern data science. The morning was devoted to climate and transport. In climate research, traditional correlation analyses are insufficient for understanding the mechanisms behind heatwaves: causal discovery and causal effect estimation methods applied to land-atmosphere feedbacks reveal the actual causal chains – a prerequisite for reliable climate models. Sensor-equipped bicycles, drone-based traffic monitoring and smartphone GPS data provide heterogeneous data streams from which machine learning methods derive driving behaviour, safety risks and infrastructure requirements – the basis for data-driven mobility policy. The Munich-based company OroraTech has long been internationally renowned for its thermal digital twin of the Earth: a satellite constellation with a 30-minute revisit time provides infrared data during the critical afternoon period when forest fires most frequently start or escalate – from data calibration to real-time fire spread monitoring.
The afternoon was devoted to fundamental questions. In empirical studies, human-AI teams often perform worse than humans or AI alone – not in spite of, but because of the combination: over-reliance on AI outputs and the mismatch between human cognitive processes and AI systems undermine the potential of collaboration. Explainable AI methods that build on human decision-making logic offer a way forward. Large language models scale, but scaling alone does not create inclusive language technology: linguistic and human variation must be integrated as a design principle in development and evaluation, rather than being treated as an afterthought. At Spotify, recommender and search systems for millions of users are evolving from static recommendations to interactive, intention-based discovery experiences – and the scalable evaluation of these systems is itself an unresolved research problem.
For the WiDS team, raising the profile of up-and-coming regional data scientists is just as important as the keynote speeches. The two go hand in hand: “If you want to drive research forward, you must also be allowed to showcase it. The poster session at our conference provides early-career researchers and students with precisely this space – and it is often there that the most interesting discussions of the day take place,” agree Prof. Dr.-Ing. Maike Stern (OTH Regensburg) and Dr Elisabeth Moser (Krones AG), the main organisers of WiDS Regensburg.
About the “Women in Data Science” conference
WiDS Regensburg is an independent event organised in partnership with the global “Women in Data Science” initiative run by Stanford University (USA). Its aim is to promote diversity in STEM professions and to strengthen dialogue within the data science community in Regensburg, the wider region and internationally. The conference is free of charge and open to everyone.
About the “Women in Data Science” team in Regensburg
WiDS Regensburg is organised by a team of early-career researchers and representatives from companies and universities. It is supported by Regensburg’s universities, the City of Regensburg, the Strategische Partnerschaft Sensorik e.V. (the supporting association of the Bavarian Sensor Technology Cluster) and other partners from the high-tech sector.
