Focus

Entertainment Computing

Prof. Hlavacs' current research interests include issues of entertainment computing, including game engines based on the Vulkan API, multiprocessing in game engines, quality of experience, mobile entertainment, multimedia performance, computer game technology, serious games, inclusion and communication for special interest groups, game physics and AI and virtual reality.

Computer Science Education

Computer Science Education starts from concepts, problem-solving strategies and methods of computer science and connects these perspectives with educational science, empirical research and school practice. The Computer Science Education Group (CSEG) addresses the question of how computer science education, algorithmic thinking and Computational Thinking can be effectively supported in schools, higher education and teacher education.

We are especially interested in student-centered learning processes in the areas of Computational Thinking, algorithmic thinking and problem solving, Physical Computing, Artificial Intelligence Education and general digital education. The Teaching and Learning Lab for Computer Science is the central research and development environment where teaching concepts are developed, tested, and evaluated together with students, teachers and school-students. The aim of our research is to develop teaching and learning concepts for sustainable, inclusive and reflective computer science education and to foster competencies in computational problem-solving.

Educational design patterns for student-centered computer science education are also an important part of our profile. They systematically describe proven teaching and learning scenarios, typical misconceptions, learning difficulties, task formats and pedagogical decisions. We study how such patterns can be made usable for the planning, reflection and further development of computer science lessons.

Technology Enhanced Learning

“Let’s embrace computational thinking and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) including AI-Tools as powerful learning accelerators, advance them, and open them up for ever more people and wiser action.”

Our mission is to support learning ideas, concepts, techniques, and a broad range of interdisciplinary applications of computer science in a way that is engaging, inspirational, and formative for all actors involved in the learning process.
This creates the foundation for well-informed, knowledge-based, and mindful professional action.
Rooted in technology-enhanced computer science learning and research at an academic level, we aim to transfer our experience to formal and informal life-long learning for a vast variety of target groups and subject areas, including students, children, migrants, medical doctors, social workers, managers and people with special needs. In particular, we address and research the rapidly changing challenges urgently needed to be met by educators at the secondary level, by academic staff, by curriculum designers, and by managers and consultants.