KD²School

KD²School is a publicly funded and neutrally coordinated graduate school. It opens a research field that is often otherwise shaped by profit-driven or political influences. Economic decisions are increasingly mediated by IT-based systems, which act as “cast in code” institutions, thus shaping decision-makers’ behaviors. Researchers involved in KD²School investigate how system design and economic decision-making interact.

The program's core goal is to transform static IT-based systems into dynamic, context-aware, and adaptive ones. It addresses the embedded nature of decision-making in fluctuating contexts (personal, task-related, environmental) with the aim of improving decision outcomes or reducing decision effort without sacrificing quality.

• Interdisciplinary Research: The program spans six thematic areas at the intersection of humans, technology, and institutions.
• Neutral Coordination: As a publicly funded program, it ensures that research remains objective and is not driven by commercial or political interests.
• State-of-the-Art Facilities: Offers access to four advanced research laboratories that support innovative experimental studies in economics, psychology, and neuroscience.

KD²School’s research program covers fundamentals of cognitive systems, individual and team decisions, group decisions in online participation, and the boundaries of adaptation. This research is supported by four state-of-the-art laboratories:

• KD²Lab (Karlsruhe): Over 40 booths for large-scale economic and psycho-physiological experiments.
• CSLab (Bremen): High-resolution sensors and a motion tracking room.
• fMRI Lab (Bremen): Cutting-edge neuroimaging with a 3-Tesla fMRI scanner.
• DecIS Lab (Karlsruhe): Advanced virtual reality and eye-tracking methodologies.