Featured Member
- iSchools News
- Jun 30
- 4 min read
Issue #2
Sascha Donner
European/African Region
Germany
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Berlin School of Library and Information Science (IBI)
(iSchools member since 2009)
Hello Sascha! Please tell us a bit about you and your iSchool!
I am a PhD candidate at the Berlin School of Library and Information Science (IBI) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The IBI is the only German school for Library and Information Science at the university level. The IBI combines a strong foundation in traditional library science with a forward-looking focus on digital transformation, scholarly communication, and human-technology interaction. And that is exactly where my doctoral research is situated. In my research I explore how humans and AI can collaborate as co-agents in hermeneutic meaning-making processes – particularly through documents, language, and other mediated forms of knowledge. In this context, I draw on the concept of documentation activity as understood in the neo-documentalist tradition. I have an interdisciplinary background, which has led me to blend information science with insights from technology and even policy. Alongside my doctoral work, I am deeply involved in practical projects that bridge academia and industry, especially in the realm of artificial intelligence. This combination of research and practice is something I am very passionate about, and it shapes my perspective as an information scientist in training.
Could you share a bit more about of your journey between academia and entrepreneurship and public sector consulting?
Before diving into academia, I co-founded an AI startup called EVANA back in 2015. Our goal was to make document management smarter and more efficient in the real estate industry and the legal sector, moving away from paper-filled binders to a secure digital platform where an AI could help manage and extract information from documents. Building a company from the ground up was an exciting experience that taught me a lot about innovation and the challenges of applying AI in a real-world domain. After spending seven years in the startup world, I transitioned into consulting for the public sector. I currently work as a Senior Lead Specialist at PD – Berater der öffentlichen Hand, an in-house consulting firm for the German government. In this role, I advise government agencies on AI strategy, governance, and the development of AI-based prototypes for public services. For instance, I have been involved in drafting federal AI guidelines and establishing an AI coordination unit within the federal government. I provide advice on implementing AI responsibly and offer technical consultations to transform innovative ideas into projects.
My academic research interests lie broadly at the intersection of personal information management, human-computer interaction, document theory, and artificial intelligence. I am particularly fascinated by how people and AI systems interact to manage and make sense of information. I aim to shed light on how emerging AI technologies influence the way we create, manage, and interpret information in our daily lives, and how this new technology could be governed if some day it gets smarter than us. It’s an exciting time – and I feel a certain responsibility to contribute in some way to better understand and contextualize it.
You are the lead organizer of DOCAM 2025 on behalf of the Berlin School of Library and Information Science. Please tell us a bit about this upcoming conference!
I am delighted to be co-organizing DOCAM 2025 (the Annual Meeting of the Document Academy) here in Berlin. The conference theme this year is “Documents – Continuity and Innovation”, which is all about exploring the impact of artificial intelligence and new technologies on documents and documentation practices. The program we have put together spans everything from theoretical discussions to practical workshops on these topics. We have some fantastic speakers lined up. For example, the renowned philosopher Maurizio Ferraris will deliver a keynote address on the concept of “Webfare”, examining our digital document culture. We will also hear from experts from the Arolsen Archives and the German government’s AI initiative who will bridge theory, policy, and culture. Other highlights include an invited talk by information science pioneer Geoffrey Bowker and two workshops led by the trailblazers of document theory: Michael Buckland and Niels Windfeld Lund, among others. In true DOCAM tradition, the event will be a single-track conference to foster a focused and lively dialogue among all participants. And since we are hosting in Berlin, we have organized some special cultural activities for our attendees giving our international guests a taste of Berlin’s rich heritage from its history to its knowledge institutions. Overall, we are excited for DOCAM 2025 to be a forum where scholars and practitioners can deeply engage with how AI is shaping the future of documents and the broader field of library and information science.
Looking ahead, what future directions are you most excited about?
There are so many avenues I am excited to explore moving forward. Having one foot in research and another in practice, I am eager to build more bridges between these worlds. For example, I see great potential in working with colleagues across different iSchools, Governments, and tech organizations globally to design human-centered AI systems. After my PhD, I am looking forward to expanding the scope of my dissertation work. I hope to delve deeper into how human–AI co-creation can enrich fields like digital humanities, archives, and personal information management but also how effective AI co-governance could be conceptualized for multi-agent AI systems and for AGI. Overall, I am very optimistic about the future. Whether it is collaborating with fellow researchers on cross-country and cross-discipline projects or teaming up with private and public institutions to solve real-world problems, I believe that partnerships will be key to drive meaningful progress. I feel grateful to be part of such a vibrant global community at the intersection of information science and AI, and I am excited for the many discoveries and collaborations that lie ahead.
Thank you very much, Sascha!
Featured Members is a new iSchools Feature series spotlighting members of iSchools who are part of the development and organization of thought provoking projects or conferences. Please contact admin@ischools-inc.org in case you would like to be featured as well.
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