Dissify: Osnabrück brings historical dissertations into the digital world!

Dissify: Osnabrück brings historical dissertations into the digital world!

The pilot project “Accessibility, digitization and analysis of historical, European dissertations” (Dissify) at the University of Osnabrück is taking shape. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Hanna Ruschemeier, an expert in the field of law, the project aims to make historical dissertations from the Baltic Sea-European region between 1880 and 1950, which are often not digitized, accessible to a broad public. The focus is on the legal challenges arising from data protection and copyright issues.

One of Dissify's main goals is to make scientific work usable in a way that complies with data protection regulations and is legally secure. This will be achieved in particular by developing a prototype for the automated determination of death dates to support copyright checks. This challenge is significant because there is often uncertainty about the copyright protection of many dissertations, which is seen as an obstacle to their digital reuse.

Scientific historical relevance

Another project component concerns the analysis of scientific-historical research approaches in digitized dissertations. In particular, we examine which dissertations can make valuable contributions to medical and social research. Many of these historical works are not only of academic interest but also of importance to the broader scientific community, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence.

The aim is to enable the comprehensive use of European dissertations by producing a legal opinion. The insights gained will flow into guidelines for institutions and form a basis for the long-term creation of a European platform for historical dissertations.

Interdisciplinary networking and future outlook

The project promotes interdisciplinary networking with other pilot projects and the scientific community in order to strengthen knowledge transfer and develop innovative approaches to the development and use of historical knowledge. In particular, special attention is paid to the collection and enrichment of metadata in order to clarify the copyright situation.

Through Dissify, the University of Osnabrück is positioning itself as a pioneer in the area of ​​digital knowledge access by making important historical dissertations accessible not only to scientists, but also to the public. Prof. Dr. Hanna Ruschemeier is available to provide further information and invites those interested to find out about the developments of the project.

For detailed information and news about Dissify, please visit Website of the University of Osnabrück as well as Regional update.