Courses

Currently, I am the primary or co-instructor for the following courses at the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB).

212044: AI Ethics and Society

Lecture/Exercise | Offered in WS 25/26

This is a Master’s level course that examines the ethical, social, and political implications of artificial intelligence (AI). Drawing on perspectives from the social sciences and humanities rather than purely technical approaches, students explore how AI can perpetuate discrimination, bias, and injustice, the responsibilities of various actors when AI causes harm, the politics of AI datasets, approaches for explaining AI decision-making, auditing, regulation, and more. Through critical analysis and assignments, students learn to assess AI-caused harms, evaluate mitigation strategies, and reflect on how to design and deploy AI systems more equitably and responsibly.

212037: Privacy Engineering, Usability, and Data Governance

Lecture/Exercise | Offered in WS 23/24, WS 24/25, WS 25/26

This is a Master’s level course that aims to equip students with the knowledge and practical skills to design and implement privacy-preserving systems. Key topics include privacy definitions and concepts, privacy by design, privacy engineering, data governance, usable privacy and UX design, and inclusive privacy. Through lectures, readings, and a semester-long individual project, students learn to conduct privacy threat modeling, apply privacy-by-design techniques, reason about the implementation of data governance principles, and create user-friendly privacy interfaces.

Theses

For Bachelor’s and Master’s students at RUB: I offer thesis supervision on a limited basis. I do not have a pre-compiled list of thesis topics, as I prefer to find an individual thesis topic that is aligned with your interest and skills. As a foundation for discussing possible thesis topics, please take a look at my group’s recent publications and current research directions.

To apply for writing a thesis with me or express interest, please email me using the email application template by RUB HCS Chair. You may also include your academic transcript, resume, and other relevant materials.

Before I formally accept an application, I will usually ask you to write an exposé based on our initial discussions. The exposé should address the following points in roughly three pages:

Motivation: What is the research gap? Why is the problem that I want to investigate important?

Related Work: What have others done in the area the specifically motivates my thesis?

Method: Which method do I want to use? What are the specific research questions? Which resources are needed to carry out my research?

Time plan: How long will writing the thesis take? How can I break it down into different work packages?

Next steps: What are the specific next steps?

I will also provide feedback on the exposé. Once it is final, we can sign it as our thesis agreement and you can start the registration process at the examination office.

Completed Theses

2025: Sophie-Charlotte Sommer (BSc) "Exploring Accessible and Inclusive IT Security: A Systematic Literature Review on Security Practices for People with Disabilities"

2024: Agata Dominika Stanczyk (MSc) "Tracing the Transformation of Phishing in the Era of AI and Social Media"

---

Email | Google Scholar | LinkedIn | Site built with Jekyll, template here