Tackling social problems with innovative technologies

01.03.2021 Two research projects led by Prof. Dr Mascha Kurpicz-Briki will begin in early March at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) Institute for Data Applications and Security (IDAS). Both aim to solve social problems using innovative computational linguistics technologies.

The project ‘Diversifier-NLP’ focuses on the use of inclusive language in job advertisements. The phrasing of job advertisements determines who they appeal to and ultimately who will apply. The use of inclusive language is therefore essential to reaching the most diverse talent pool possible among the population as a whole. Researchers from the Institute for Data Applications and Security (IDAS) are working with the company Witty Works GmbH to achieve this. The Witty Works GmbH Diversifier is an online check tool for job advertisements that helps companies tackle the challenges of using inclusive language. BFH researchers led by Prof. Dr Mascha Kurpicz-Briki are supporting Witty Works GmbH with innovative technologies and expert knowledge in the fields of computational linguistics and machine learning.

The second project, which is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF),  is entitled BurnoutWords and will also begin in March 2021. Here, IDAS researchers will combine innovative IT and computational linguistics technologies with existing clinical psychology tools. The goal is to use automatisation and digitalisation to create new methods for recognising and preventing burnouts.

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