New professor in applied IT
Thomas Hillman is new professor in applied information technology towards educational science. In his research he investigates how digitalization and artificial intelligence affects our understanding about knowledge and knowing.
Thomas Hillman is originally industrial- and interaction designer and he got his PhD in pedagogy at University of Ottawa 2011. He started a post doc position at the Faculty of Education at University of Gothenburg, where he later on became associate professor.
For a couple of years now, he has been working at the IT Faculty, Department of Applied IT, as a researcher and teacher, where he examines the ongoing restructuring of technology and digital tools for learning and knowledge in various contexts.
Thomas Hillman currently runs and participates in a total of four different research projects funded by, among others, the Swedish Research Council and Riksbankens jubileumsfond.
– In one of the projects, I investigate how people are developing expertise in very large online communities. In another international project we are looking at the relationship between the use of computers and equality in schools. I am also part of a cross disciplinary project where we investigate how radiologists learn to rely on artificial intelligence in their work, he says.
Looking from the outside, the research might seem as from very disparate areas, but according to Thomas Hillman all his research deal with different aspects of how knowledge change due to digitalization and artificial intelligence.
What can your results mean for society?
– The results are relevant to understand how we should design and use digital technology when we learn new things and use our knowledge, Thomas says.
Thomas Hillman’s work and research findings are useful for schools, working places and museums for example, to understand how they as institutions share and create knowledge and how digital technology can be used in education, museum visits, and in self-driven learning in social media.
What does it mean for you to be promoted to professor?
– It is a great honour. Being a professor has been a goal for a long time and it is a result of a lot of work, but it is also a reflection of the fantastic opportunities and collaborations I have been fortunate to have.