A great deal of commitment to the subject and her students

Prof Dr Ulrike Erb retires after more than 20 years at the university

As early as the 1970s, computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum warned of the uncontrollability of large software systems. Not even the developers themselves could fully understand systems with hundreds or thousands of lines of programme code. Who keeps track of everything and knows exactly where an error is hidden? Probably no one.

A critical look at the potential of computer science

If decisions are made on the basis of algorithms whose decision criteria are no longer transparent, this harbours great potential for danger. It can quickly lead to a catastrophe if an error in the source code inadvertently triggers nuclear weapons. Back in the 1980s, when the first Pershing II missiles were stationed in Germany, computer scientists pointed out the risks of complex computer programmes. One of them was Prof Dr Ulrike Erb. Even as a student, she had a critical view of her subject: "It's important to me that you also see the problematic aspects of computer science. I always had that in mind. I didn't want to contribute to the development of technologies that nobody could control in the end."

A critical look at the potential of computer science

If decisions are made on the basis of algorithms whose decision criteria are no longer transparent, this harbours great potential for danger. It can quickly lead to a catastrophe if an error in the source code inadvertently triggers nuclear weapons. Back in the 1980s, when the first Pershing II missiles were stationed in Germany, computer scientists pointed out the risks of complex computer programmes. One of them was Prof Dr Ulrike Erb. Even as a student, she had a critical view of her subject: "It's important to me that you also see the problematic aspects of computer science. I always had that in mind. I didn't want to contribute to the development of technologies that nobody could control in the end."

Prof Dr Ulrike Erb decided to study computer science after graduating from high school in 1976, when the subject was still relatively unknown: It was only possible to enrol at three German universities. The fact that her father worked in IT sparked her interest in programming languages early on. "My parents advised me to choose a technical career. Even though the field was still very new, they were aware of how forward-looking it was," says the professor. It was also important to her to be well versed in the subject, the development of which she saw so critically in some cases. Because: "Instead of blindly believing in technical progress, I wanted to understand computers and their functional principles."

Women's perspectives in computer science

After completing her studies in Kaiserslautern, she initially worked as a scientific officer for the Green Party, which had just been elected to the Bundestag. In 1988, Prof Dr Erb moved to the University of Bremen, where she also completed her doctorate. The topic of her doctoral thesis was "Women's perspectives on computer science - female computer scientists in the field of tension between distance and proximity to technology". "In my computer science degree programme, only about four out of sixty people were female. But at the University of Bremen, there was a strong and committed group of female computer scientists who worked as a women's representative collective to increase the proportion of women in computer science," says Prof Erb. She joined the specialist group "Women and Computer Science" in the German Informatics Society, in which she is still involved today - including as editor of the magazine "Frauen machen Informatik", which is published annually.

Followed the call to Bremerhaven

After working in the software industry for several years, Dr Ulrike Erb accepted a call to Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences in 2003 and became a professor in the field of "Information Systems in the Service Sector". There she met like-minded people - not only when it comes to female perspectives and a critical view of computer science, but also when it comes to another topic that is close to her heart: sustainability. "It is not only important how computers can contribute to environmental protection, but also how hardware and software themselves can become more sustainable," explains Prof Erb. For example, modular software products enable a reduction in memory and energy requirements if they allow users to install only the modules they actually want to use. "From the first semester onwards, we emphasise teaching students programming approaches to reduce complexity and conserve computing power and hardware resources in computer science courses," says Professor Erb.  As a result, hardware and end devices can be used for longer and need to be replaced less frequently with more powerful components. The development and use of open source software in particular leads to more durable systems, as the source code is freely accessible and can therefore be customised and replaced independently of commercial providers.  

Sustainable computer science is a topic in teaching

"In addition, we use reused equipment in our laboratories wherever possible and provide loan notebooks for students who do not - yet - have their own notebook. This makes it possible to dispense with expensive lab computers," explains Prof Erb. In computer science, it is not necessary to always have the latest model; simple notebooks are usually sufficient. "If we need new hardware, we buy refurbished where possible and refurbish it ourselves." Refurbishing involves professionally overhauling used products and then reselling them at a significantly lower price. Although these are older models, they still work perfectly. In this way, students learn right from the start how to use resources sustainably.  

During the university's Climate Week, Prof. Dr Erb organised a workshop on sustainable programming and website design together with colleagues from Computer Science and Digital Media Production. "On many websites, for example, the file size of the images is unnecessarily large. Reducing the quality by 60% is not even recognisable to the naked eye, but saves a lot of resources." This reduces loading times and data consumption. Resource-efficiently programmed applications not only ensure lower energy consumption, but also contribute to accessibility because they also work without super-fast data transmission.

Digital sovereignty in the age of big data

Prof. Dr Erb has retained a critical view of the development of computer science and brings this to her degree programme. Digital sovereignty is a particular concern of hers. Together with her colleagues, she sensitises her students to the question of what happens to personal data when using internet and cloud applications and urges them to be more careful. "We want to know where our data ends up and believe that IT infrastructures should be set up in secure and trustworthy locations." If, for example, video conferencing systems are used that are administered at the university, the university has sovereignty over the protection of the data. This digital sovereignty is not the case when using commercially operated conference systems, especially if these are hosted on servers outside the scope of the European General Data Protection Regulation. The IT infrastructure works exclusively with open source software in order to remain independent of large companies and to be able to adapt and expand the systems ourselves. 

At eye level with the students

Despite her commitment to the wide range of topics, Prof Dr Ulrike Erb always kept her students in mind. "Teaching has always been the most important thing for me. We can cover what interests us in our subject areas in our courses and engage with them in the spirit of research-based learning. The relationship with the students becomes more and more fun over the years because you become more and more confident yourself. It's important to me to treat them as equals and with respect. I've been teaching for twenty years now and it's just nice to be able to do it in a very relaxed way thanks to my wealth of experience."

Although Dr Ulrike Erb's professorship ends with the winter semester, she will remain with the university and her subject for a while longer. She has already accepted a teaching position and is looking forward to continuing to work with students and her colleagues. She would like to use her newfound free time to become even more involved as a volunteer with the "Women and Computer Science" specialist group and the "Forum of Women Computer Scientists for Peace and Social Responsibility" (FIfF). Her next big task is this year's FIfF autumn conference on "Sustainability in IT with and through open source" from 25 to 27 October at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, which she will be organising together with colleagues.