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The 'Responsible IT' theme has only become more urgent in recent years, Nanda Pierma observes upon her departure. "I am extremely happy and especially proud of what we have achieved so far with our team. During my previous position as lecturer in Urban Analytics, I already saw the urgency of the Responsible IT theme. Meanwhile, the relevance of this research has only increased. This is also reflected in the growth of the team: where I started as a lecturer in 2020 with a team of four, the professorship has grown to 12 employees."
Within the lectorate, in recent years workshop RITA (Responsible IT Amsterdam) has been established in which researchers make responsible prototypes and tools, in close cooperation with the CMD and HBO ICT courses. In addition, the lectorate works closely with the seven labs at other faculties of the CoE Applied Artificial Intelligence. Another milestone was the appointment of Pascal Wiggers as the first associate lecturer at the HvA (Responsible A.I. lectureship). Currently, the lectureship is also engaged in a number of PhD and PD projects.
For that mindset, the professorship brings together different angles: the philosophical angle, human values and IT knowledge of what makes an IT system understandable, reliable and what is a proper design. "Often the latter is forgotten. It is then a perfectly proper system, but no one can work with it. We have now applied these design principles in the RITA workshop. That combination of expertise makes what we do very strong."
Finally, Piersma is very proud that the professorship is so strongly committed to working with students at HvA courses. "We also want to sit with the study programmes, literally in the lecturer's room, so that with every project we check how it relates to what we are training for."
Frank Kresin, dean of the faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industries:
This article was published on the Hogeschool van Amsterdam website.
© Hogeschool van Amsterdam
12 January 2024
Nanda Piersma stops as Responsible IT lecturer
Nanda Piersma will step down as lecturer Responsible IT at the HvA from 1 January 2024, as she opts for a different work-life balance. Piersma will remain at the HvA as scientific director of the Centre of Expertise Applied Artificial Intelligence at the Digital Media & Creative Industries faculty.
Together with the City of Amsterdam, the Responsible IT lectorate conducts practice-oriented research into the responsible development of digital technology for the city. For example, digital issues and solutions for the city are investigated and tested in practice, including the application of data lockers, speech technology and the digitisation of laws and regulations. Social values and the human touch are always the starting point for the researchers.
The 'Responsible IT' theme has only become more urgent in recent years, Nanda Pierma observes upon her departure. "I am extremely happy and especially proud of what we have achieved so far with our team. During my previous position as lecturer in Urban Analytics, I already saw the urgency of the Responsible IT theme. Meanwhile, the relevance of this research has only increased. This is also reflected in the growth of the team: where I started as a lecturer in 2020 with a team of four, the professorship has grown to 12 employees."
Within the lectorate, in recent years workshop RITA (Responsible IT Amsterdam) has been established in which researchers make responsible prototypes and tools, in close cooperation with the CMD and HBO ICT courses. In addition, the lectorate works closely with the seven labs at other faculties of the CoE Applied Artificial Intelligence. Another milestone was the appointment of Pascal Wiggers as the first associate lecturer at the HvA (Responsible A.I. lectureship). Currently, the lectureship is also engaged in a number of PhD and PD projects.
Responsible deployment and development of digital technology
"As a team, we pride ourselves on actually giving substance to the word 'responsible' when it comes to IT," says Piersma. "At the same time, we know that responsible is not easy. It is not a matter of completing a checklist and ticking 'now you are responsible'. It requires a completely different mindset, which needs continuous attention - from the beginning to the end of an IT project."
For that mindset, the professorship brings together different angles: the philosophical angle, human values and IT knowledge of what makes an IT system understandable, reliable and what is a proper design. "Often the latter is forgotten. It is then a perfectly proper system, but no one can work with it. We have now applied these design principles in the RITA workshop. That combination of expertise makes what we do very strong."
Finally, Piersma is very proud that the professorship is so strongly committed to working with students at HvA courses. "We also want to sit with the study programmes, literally in the lecturer's room, so that with every project we check how it relates to what we are training for."
The research team has taken the first steps leading to Responsible IT being seen as valuable and embraced in this, says Piersma. "I hope my successor will be able to give his own interpretation of how to proceed. Because we actually still have very few answers and many new questions have arisen."
Frank Kresin, dean of the faculty of Digital Media and Creative Industries:
"I am very grateful to Nanda for the enthusiasm and energy with which she, together with her team, has developed a rock-solid lectureship on the theme of responsible IT and a CoE on applied AI. In doing so, she has made a great contribution to practice-based research and education within the HvA and far beyond. She was also the first lecturer to join the SER, giving her - and the HvA's - perspective a place on the most important advisory council for government and parliament on socio-economic issues. Moreover, I got to know Nanda as a fine colleague with a big social heart, who puts both technology and people at the centre of her life and work. This is also reflected in how she has given her team room to experiment and grow. I am therefore delighted that Nanda will remain associated with the Centre of Expertise Applied Artificial Intelligence and as a crown member at the SER, and will stay on as a lecturer until her successor is appointed."
This article was published on the Hogeschool van Amsterdam website.
© Hogeschool van Amsterdam
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