Electronic biosensors based on graphene field-effect transistors, photographed at the Institute of Applied Physical Chemistry and Molecular Nanotechnology at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena.

Digital Academy

The Digital Academy brings together researchers, methodologies and research infrastructures at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. In doing so, it creates new opportunities to make research more digital and collaboration more interdisciplinary.

Electronic biosensors based on graphene field-effect transistors, photographed at the Institute of Applied Physical Chemistry and Molecular Nanotechnology at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena.

Image: Jens Meyer (University of Jena)

What we will do

The Digital Academy accelerates the university's digital transformation while actively shaping the impact of emerging AI across all areas of research. As a university-wide platform, it repositions FSU as a digital research hub in central Germany and a key player internationally.

Interdisciplinary networking	Research support and services	Competencies and peer learning
The Digital Academy connects researchers across disciplines, enabling cutting-edge digital research through structured networking and professional coordination. It actively engages researchers with the digital dimensions of their work and sustains the momentum of digital transformation.	Through dedicated staff working in close integration with university units, the Digital academy offers tailored support for applying digital methods, tools and infrastructures, identifies support gaps and delivers targeted pilot initiatives.	The Digital Academy empowers researchers and students to engage effectively with digital technologies by building relevant competencies and enabling peer learning at scale, together with partners within and beyond the university.

Friedrich Schiller University Jena is home to numerous initiatives and institutions that support various aspects of this transformation. The Digital Academy builds on these existing structures and their strengths. It brings together existing expertise, identifies new needs arising from research practice, and collaboratively develops new formats and projects.

What we build on

Excellent Research

The ZAF foyer during the Long Night of Science.
Image: Nicole Nerger (University of Jena)

The Digital Academy builds on excellent disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in AI, data and simulation science. These efforts have been embedded in cross-faculty and cross-institutional cooperation structures forming a dynamic network for more than a decade — providing a solid basis for further integrating FSU's strengths in life sciences, optics and democracy research.
Digital Research Support

Experiment with polymers
Image: Nicole Nerger (University of Jena)

A strong operational baseline is provided by an established and continuously growing digital research infrastructure: the Alliance of Thuringian University Compute Centers (HS-ITZ), several HPC clusters, FSU's Digital Research Services, a Bioinformatics Core Facility, strong engagement in Germany's national research data infrastructure initiative (NFDI), the Thuringian Center of Learning Systems and Robotics (TZLR), and the ThULB as state digitisation centre. The DA consolidates and scales this foundation.
Established Governing Structure
A participant scans a QR code with their mobile phone during the opening of the ninth E-Learning Day.
Image: Jens Meyer (University of Jena)

The CIO Committee is already established as an initial governing body, providing the operational framework for immediate implementation of the Digital Academy.

What has happened so far ...

Key topics highlighted

In an initial public exchange at the university, researchers from all disciplines came together to discuss key challenges and opportunities in digital research. This resulted in an initial thematic mapping of digital methods and research approaches at the university.

Graphic: Juliane Seeber