ESMT European School of Management and Technology has founded the Digital Society Institute (DSI) at the international business school in Berlin. Allianz, BASF, and EY are actively engaged in the institute. DSI will conduct research on digitalization and will strengthen the discussion among business, politics, and society with scientific expertise. Academically independent, DSI will provide objective research, information, crosscutting analysis, and strategies as business and society become increasingly digitalized. Additional leading companies are already requesting to and expected to join the Digital Society Institute in the future.
The Digital Society Institute will focus on three main areas: digital society and strategy, digital risks and evaluation of solution approaches, and innovation and regulation. The institute will start with topics regarding cybersecurity and privacy, developing analytical methods, evaluation capacities and effective roadmaps for a secure and liberal information technology. Expertise will be provided to support technology assessment, policymaking processes, IT market management, profitable investment, as well as the development of disruptive innovation.
An advisory council of academics, business leaders, and policymakers will also support the institute. Members of the advisory council include Chairman Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference; Vice Chairman Dr. Robert Blackburn, President, Information Technology and Supply Chain Operations, BASF; Thomas Bagger, Head of Policy Planning, German Federal Foreign Office; Ambassador Sorin Ducaru, Assistant Secretary General, NATO; Melissa Hathaway, Senior Advisor, Harvard Belfer Center; Brigitte Zypries, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Dr. Stefan Hei?ner, Partner, EY; and Dr. Ralf Schneider, Group CIO, Allianz. Talks with the German Federal Ministry of the Interior to join the Advisory Council have been initiated as well.
The actively engaged companies commented: “We aim to actively address the challenges of digitalization and contribute to defining European standards in this area. In doing so, we seek close cooperation with the German economy, academia and politics. The foundation of the Digital Society Institute at ESMT is an important step in this direction.”
The Digital Society Institute will be led by Dr. Sandro Gaycken, a leading international technology and cybersecurity researcher, who explores the nexus of digital technology, economies, and policy and advises governmental institutions and large enterprises on cyber strategy. He is a fellow in the working group on cyber defense and cyber intelligence of Oxford University’s Martin College , a director for strategic cyber defense projects in the NATO SPS Program, and a member of the benchmarking group for “Industrie 4.0” standards for the German Ministry of Research BMBF, among others.
