Dr Matthias Berg is a research associate at the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he heads the “Smart City Design” department. His areas of work include the research and development of intelligent software systems for smart cities and smart regions as well as the connection between digital and social innovations.

Matthias Berg is involved in various projects focussing on the design and implementation of demand-oriented digital services for the public sector. In this respect, the potentials of digitalisation for municipal services of general interest are of particular importance. One research focus is on analysing context-specific challenges in urban and rural areas. Specific areas of application include, for example, digital communication applications, tools for urban and spatial planning and solutions for the care sector.

In addition to research and development projects, Matthias Berg is involved in the scientific monitoring of pilot projects and the preparation of studies. The spectrum ranges from topics such as the effects of digitalisation in rural areas and their social and ecological sustainability to the potentials of artificial intelligence for the public sector and success factors as well as obstacles in the digitalisation of services of general interest.

Matthias Berg studied cultural studies, musicology and economics at the University of Bremen and holds a doctorate in communication and media studies. He researched and taught at the Bremen Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research, ZeMKI, on digital media in connection with cultural and social change.