From Bachelor to Professor of Business Informatics: HSBA Alumnus and AI Expert Prof. Dr. Tobias Knuth

Dear Professor Knuth, we had the honour of accompanying you a little way on your path to success and are very happy for you! At this point, congratulations once again on your appointment! You have been passing on your knowledge in the field of artificial neural networks to our students for a few years now - what do you particularly like about teaching?

I am happy to be able to work professionally in such a diverse and interdisciplinary field, and I find the lively exchange with students very enriching. In teaching, I continue to learn more every day, about my field and myself - through the preparation of the lectures, the questions and discussions of the students in the courses, and through the transfer between theory and practice. Particularly in part-time and dual study programmes, many different professional experiences often come together, so that versatile perspectives and applications develop when dealing with theoretical content.

Among other things, you deal with artificial intelligence, with artificial neural networks in online marketing and e-commerce. That was also the topic of your research year at HSBA and your doctoral thesis. Why did you specialise in these topics? What fascinates you about it?

I perceive artificial intelligence as one of the most exciting areas of the present. The forms and applications of AI are as varied as the definitions that describe the term. John Searle already distinguished between weak (narrow) and strong AI over 40 years ago. Weak AI allows for specific solutions such as autonomous driving, fraud detection in e-commerce and facial recognition. Strong AI refers to the idea where an AI system forms its own mind. But different orientations also exist in weak AI, such as the goal of simulating human behaviour (e.g. chatbots, voice assistance) or making rational decisions (e.g. fraud prevention). The interdisciplinarity of artificial intelligence from technical and mathematical details to ethical and societal considerations makes this field of research particularly interesting for me. In my research, I wanted to investigate a socially relevant problem, for which AI lent itself to fraud prevention in online retail.

You were one of the first doctoral students to complete a doctorate with us at HSBA as part of the then brand new cooperative doctoral programme together with the Claussen-Simon Foundation. In other words, you managed to do your doctorate parallel to your employment at the time and to reconcile everyday work, scientific research work and your private life, your family. You persevered and even took the next step. What motivated you and what convinced you of our doctoral programme?

I found the cooperative doctoral programme to be a valuable enrichment because, in addition to my doctorate abroad, I also had HSBA as a local contact. As part of the programme, I was allowed to participate in seminars on scientific methodological topics and gained insights into the research practice of visiting professors. In addition, the HSBA programme also promoted exchange between doctoral students who were doing their doctorates at a wide variety of universities in different countries, an exciting, international and yet regional exchange. For my doctorate and research work, I travelled to the UK, the Netherlands and the USA and gathered numerous impressions. I am very grateful for the support of the HSBA and the Claussen-Simon Foundation. In addition to my motivation to complete a doctorate, I found the mutual appreciation and mentoring within the programme to be an additional motivation.

After your doctorate, you applied for a post-doctoral fellowship. Your academic supervisor was Prof. Dr. Dennis Ahrholdt, who was already your doctoral supervisor at HSBA. Could you briefly explain what a PostDoc fellowship is and how you get one? What topic did you deal with here?

A postdoctoral fellowship following a doctorate is intended for further academic training and qualification in order to promote an academic career. Of particular importance is a clear research concept in which research plans and goals are outlined. I mainly did research on artificial intelligence topics. During the research period, I was able to publish several papers on different topics, including, for example, a paper on learning decision trees. I am very grateful for the freedom to research on topics of my choice and to shape my professional future.

Is there anything you would like to give our students as a recipe for success or as advice in general?

I believe that success - and even more so satisfaction - is a subjective measure. Think about your values and what drives you. What do you want to spend your time doing in the future? Reflecting on these questions accompanied me in my academic career and helped me make the right decisions for me. Set yourself realistic milestones and appreciate small successes.