Events


Please find here a selection of the events at the Walter Benjamin Kolleg in the spring semester 2026. More events will be added during the course of the semester.

Coffee Lectures Unitobler+

This spring semester you again have the opportunity to learn about new and useful information about research in the humanities in 15 minutes during the lunchtime coffee at 13:00. Participation in our Coffee Lectures - a cooperation with the University Library - is possible in person at the Walter Benjamin Kolleg as well as online over Zoom.

Slides of past Coffee Lectures on ILIAS

Coffee Lectures in Spring Semester 2026

Scite.AI and Consensus for Humanities Research

Dr. Ina Mertens (University Library)

 

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Location: Walter Benjamin Kolleg (Unitobler) and online

 

The AI-supported research tools Scite.AI and Consensus promise to make scientific literature accessible in new ways, each with a different focus: While Scite.AI focuses on the number and type of citations, Consensus is geared toward summarizing research results. The Coffee Lecture focuses on the possibilities and limitations of these tools for research in the humanities.

Coffee Lectures in Spring Semester 2026

How to Publish your Thesis with BORIS

Dr. Andrea Hacker (UB Bern, Open Science Team)

 

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Place: Walter Benjamin Kolleg (Unitobler) and Online

 

A new version of BORIS Theses will be available from 2 February 2026. Doctoral students can now submit their dissertations directly on the platform to get it published in open access. This eliminates the need to send email attachments or data carriers to the university library. This Coffee Lecture will demonstrate the new process and give you the opportunity to ask questions about publishing your dissertation on BORIS.

Coffee Lectures in Spring Semester 2026

AI for audio transcription and beyond

MA Ahmad Alhineidi (Data Science Lab), Dr. Gero Schreier (Humanities Data Steward)

 

Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Place: only online

 

Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, can save a significant amount of time on tasks such as text and audio transcription. However, services offered by major providers like OpenAI raise serious concerns regarding data protection and research ethics. Therefore, the University of Bern offers TextLab, a service that makes technologies such as OCR, transcription, and LLM-assisted data analysis available in a secure environment managed by the university. In this talk, we’ll show what TextLab can do today, how it’s used in practice, and what we’re planning next.

Research Day

Faculty of Humanities - Research Day 2026

Date and time: April 20, 2026 1-6 p.m.
Location: Lerchenweg 36, 3012 Bern

More information

Events of the WBKolleg, the Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Research Network (IPN, german IFN), the Graduate School of the Arts and Humanities GSAH (doctoral programs ICS, GS, SLS and SINTA), the Center for the Study of Language and Society (CSLS) and the Center for Global Studies (CGS)