Richard Specker
Research Assistant

Department of Informatics
University of Zurich
Binzmuehlestrasse 14
CH-8050 Zurich
Room: BIN 2.D.11
Email: richardjoerg.specker@uzh.ch specker@ifi.uzh.ch
Phone: +41 44 635 43 62
Fax: +41 44 635 68 09
Connect: ResearchGateORCiDLinkedIn
Shot CV
Work
- Since 12/2024: Research Assistant and PhD Student at the Information Management Research Group, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
- 09/2022 - 08/2024: Junior Data Scientist at simpego in Zürich, Switzerland
- 08/2020 - 08/2022: Research Analyst at Industrie- und Handelskammer St.Gallen-Appenzell in St.Gallen, Switzerland
- 01/2019 - 07/2020: Working Student at acrevis Bank AG in St.Gallen, Switzerland
- 09/2015 - 02/2017: Intern at UBS in St.Gallen, Switzerland
Education
- 2021-2024: Master of Science in Data Science, University of Zurich
- 2017-2021: Bachelor of Arts in Economics, University of St.Gallen
Research Interests
- Collaboration Engineering
- Human-AI Collaboration
- Team-AI Collaboration
Supervised Theses and Master Projects
Bachelor Theses:
- Jan F. Joos, Schmidli, The Influence of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Group Processes in Brainstorming Sessions: A Qualitative Analysis, 2025
- Marc T. Huber, Enhanced Human-AI Brainstorming: Two of the Six Thinking Hats, 2025
- Timon Derboven, Hats off to AI: Two of the Six Thinking Hats in AI-Facilitated Ideation, 2025
- Leon R. Braga, AI as a structured and emotional thinker: Applying de Bono’s hats to Human-AI brainstorming, 2025
Master theses:
- Ivelin Ivanov, Investigating the Role of AI in Supporting the Facilitation of Collaborative Brainstorming Sessions, 2025
Open Theses and Master Projects
Check available topics at our page: Theses
If you are interested in doing the master thesis or project with me or, if you have any idea for new projects - feel free to contact me.
Teaching Assistance
- Spring Semester 2025: CSCW
- Spring Semester 2024: CSCW
- Fall Semester 2022: Einführung ins wissenschaftliche Arbeiten
Publications
ZORA Publication List
Download Options
Publications
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An Extra Brain In The Room: Enhancing Large Group Brainstorming With An Autonomous AI-Agent. In: The European Conference on Information Systems 2025, Ammann, Jordan, 15 Juni 2025 - 18 Juni 2025, AIS Electronic Library.
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AI-ThinkLets for Brainstorming. In: Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2025 (HICSS-58), Honolulu, USA, 6 January 2025 - 10 January 2025. University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 357-371.