Abteilung für Hochschulkommunikation

Medieninformation Nr. 115-2020

vom 1. September 2020

Prof. Dr. Philipp Hacker appointed first professor of the European New School (ENS) /
Chair of Law and Ethics of the Digital Society


Prof. Dr. Philipp Hacker is the first professor of the newly founded European New School of Digital Studies (ENS) at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). Today, Tuesday 1st of September, he was appointed as Professor of Law and Ethics of the Digital Society. Prof. Dr. Philipp Hacker has recently conducted research at the Humboldt University of Berlin on the legal implications of machine learning, in particular on questions of transparency, discrimination and data protection.

During his appointment, Prof. Dr. Philipp Hacker underlined his passion for interdisciplinary research. “The ENS conducts research at the intersection of law, technology and social sciences. This is why I am thankful to be able to contribute to the development of this new, dynamic institution. I would like to combine my work on the legal challenges of digital technologies - for example the development of a legal framework for training data for artificial intelligence - with a commitment to teaching and students", he affirmed on Tuesday.

Prof. Dr. Philipp Hacker is the first of four professors appointed by the European University Viadrina to the European New School of Digital Studies. The other professors will be appointed in the coming months. In addition to "Law and Ethics of the Digital Society", they will cover the areas of "Information Management and Digital Transformation", "Sociology of Technology" and "Political Theory and Digital Democracy". In addition, the Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań will offer courses in the fields of computer science and informatics.

The ENS is a joint venture of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) and the Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań. It is located at the Collegium Polonicum in Słubice. The Master of Digital Entrepreneurship (MoDE), which is the first study program at the European New School of Digital Studies, will start with the lecture period of the winter term 2020/21. The student selection process has recently been completed after a successful application period.

Personal background
Prof. Dr. Philipp Hacker habilitated at the Humboldt University of Berlin in June 2020 with a thesis on private data law. As head of a research project on fairness and machine learning, he dealt with the questions of how the EU legal framework, but also technical processes themselves can contribute to artificial intelligence making fair and trustworthy decisions. Previously, he was A.SK Fellow at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin and Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence. The 35-year-old was expert and reviewer for the Council of Experts for Consumer Affairs of the Federal Ministry of Justice and for Consumer Protection. He also advises the Federal Government on how to deal with artificial intelligence.
Philipp Hacker studied law at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and completed his legal clerkship in Berlin. In 2014, he obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) at Yale Law School and in 2016 he received his doctorate at Humboldt University Berlin with a thesis on behavioural economics and private law.


Further Information:
Europa-Universität Viadrina
Department of Public Relations
Tel.: +49 (0)335 - 5534 4515
presse@europa-uni.de
www.europa-uni.de