SOUNDS

Job advertisement: Research assistant and outreach and third mission officer with a focus on science communication at SOUNDS (m/f/d)

The Outreach and Third Mission Officer for Science Communication supports both the scientific project management and the executive management with regard to communication and visibility for SOUNDS. Specifically, he or she is responsible for the target group-oriented preparation and processing of scientific content and results, thereby contributing significantly to the dissemination of SOUNDS and the initiation of collaborations. The advisor also works together with the Outreach and Third Mission Advisor for stakeholder and partner management. The Science Communication Advisor also conducts their own scientific research as a research assistant in the field of Computational Social Sciences/Societal Computing in coordination with the scientific project management.

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Report on SOUNDS in Die Zeit

To mark the journal's 80th anniversary, ‘Die ZEIT’ is publishing a special science issue. ‘Do we need a weather report for our society?’. The answer is provided by the SOUNDS project, initiated by Prof Dr Daniela Braun and Prof Dr Ingmar Weber at Saarland University, and funded by the Saarland Ministry of Finance and Science from the Transformation Fund. It is intended to help develop a kind of early warning system - a democracy barometer - to monitor the mood within our society. To achieve this, it combines interdisciplinary social and computer science approaches. It analyses social transformation processes using innovative data sources such as satellite images, social media and barcode scanners. The aim is to link computer and social sciences and strengthen the use of data-intensive methods. In the long term, the aim is to create an institute based on the structures that have been established.

New job offer: Postdoc Researcher positions (f/m/x) for Societal Computing

This position is a joint appointment between SOUNDS and the Societal Computing Group, reflecting the close scientific and strategic collaboration between both initiatives. The successful candidate will contribute to and shape research across both environments, benefiting from their complementary strengths in data-intensive, interdisciplinary research and international engagement. The joint nature of the position offers a unique opportunity to work at the interface of computer science and the social sciences, contribute to long-term institution-building efforts, and translate scientific insights into real-world societal and policy impact.

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Job advertisement: Student assistant wanted

We are looking for a student/research assistant for the large-scale SOUNDS project!

• The tasks involve supporting project management in various organisational and administrative processes. For example:
• Supporting internal and external communication (e.g. website content, social media).
• Assisting with the creation of texts.
• Proofreading texts and presentations.
• Supporting the preparation, organisation and supervision of events, appointments, meetings and workshops.
• Conducting research.
• Supporting data management and analysis (no prior knowledge required).

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Job advertisement: Project manager wanted

As part of the newly established interdisciplinary competence centre SOUNDS (Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources) at Saarland University, the following position is advertised with an application deadline of 10 October 2025:

Management of the large-scale SOUNDS project

In addition, further complementary positions as consultants and in the field of data engineering are planned in the near future, as well as a graduate college and the advertisement of new professorships in the field of computational social sciences.

We would be delighted if you could forward this advertisement to anyone who might be interested.

Saarbrücker Zeitung reports on SOUNDS

On 23 August, an article appeared in the Saarbrücker Zeitung introducing the new SOUNDS project, that is funded by the Saarland Ministry of Finance and Sciencefrom the Transformation Fund. It is intended to help develop a kind of early warning system - a democracy barometer - to monitor the mood within our society. To achieve this, it combines interdisciplinary social and computer science approaches. It analyses social transformation processes using innovative data sources such as satellite images, social media and barcode scanners. The aim is to link computer and social sciences and strengthen the use of data-intensive methods. In the long term, the aim is to create an institute based on the structures that have been established.

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Millions in state funding: analysing society and the economy with new data sources

Satellite images, social media and barcode scanners in shops offer a wealth of data that has so far been little used in the social sciences. New AI-supported methods are helping with the evaluation of this data, but they require a great deal of IT expertise and legal and ethical classification. This interdisciplinary expertise is now to be pooled in a competence centre called "Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources (SOUNDS)".

The state government is supporting this with 29 million euros from the Transformation Fund in order to generate not only scientific insights but also concrete economic impetus for the transformation of the Saarland economy.

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SR reports on SOUNDS

In its latest report, Saarländischer Rundfunk (SR) covers the SOUNDS project at Saarland University, which is dedicated to evaluating unconventional data such as social media analyses, satellite images and web search trends. SR interviewed political scientist Prof. Dr. Daniela Braun and computer scientist Prof. Dr. Ingmar Weber about the project. By combining the expertise of Saarland University in the field of computer science with findings from social science research, SOUNDS aims to become a central hub for innovative, empirical studies addressing current social challenges. Ultimately, SOUNDS aims to inform decision-making processes, promote public engagement and support democratic resilience, thereby positioning itself both as a research centre and as a think-and-do tank dedicated to solving real social problems.

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