Richard Specker

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
Connect: ResearchGateORCiDLinkedIn

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

• Collaboration Engineering
• Human-AI Collaboration
• Team-AI Collaboration

Bachelor Theses:

• Andrin N. Fuhrer, Arbeitspraktiken zur automatisierten Analyse von Brainstorming-Sitzungen, 2026
• Marc T. Amsler, KI-gestützte Entscheidungsfindung in der strategischen Raumentwicklung, 2026
• 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:

• Adam Bauer, Now You Route Me, Now You Don’t Design Theory for a Context-Aware AI PhoneBot for Municipal Call Services, 2026
• Lena N. Fischer, Perceptions on Persuasive AI Impersonating Citizens in a Citizen Participation Process, 2026
• Lin Han, Embedding AI agents in workshops: How AI agents affect participant commitment to group outcomes, 2026
• Ivelin Ivanov, Investigating the Role of AI in Supporting the Facilitation of Collaborative Brainstorming Sessions, 2025

Master projects:

• Yangyang Luo, Minh Ngyuen and Raphael A. van den Doel, Exploring the Use of AI Systems in the Convergent Phase of Group Collaboration, 2025

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.

• Spring Semester 2026: CSCW
• Fall Semester 2025: Wirtschaftsinformatik II
• Spring Semester 2025: CSCW
• Spring Semester 2024: CSCW
• Fall Semester 2022: Einführung ins wissenschaftliche Arbeiten