Prof. (FH) Mag. Barbara Prazak-Aram
Barbara Prazak-Aram took over as director of the master’s program in Digital Health Management in the fall of 2024 . She has been a research assistant at the Institute for Health Sciences since September 2022 and has been teaching in the bachelor’s program in Aging Services Management since 2016. In addition, she has been teaching at various universities in Austria for many years.
Prior to that, Barbara Prazak-Aram spent more than 15 years in non-university research in the fields of rehabilitation technology, active and assistive living, and user experience design at the intersection of technology and the social sciences. She has experience in project management and leadership of national and international projects, as well as in securing external funding.
Her research interests lie in the field of Active & Assistive Living, assistive technologies for older adults and people with disabilities, as well as in the implementation of participatory research designs with vulnerable target groups and in ethical and methodological issues.
Key Areas of Work & Research Interests
Assistive Technologies
Alternative Forms of Communication
Diversity
Participatory Research
Digitalization in Healthcare
Career Path
Designated Program Director for the Master's Program in Digital Health Management, Ferdinand Porsche FERNFH
Research Assistant at the Institute for Health Sciences, Ferdinand Porsche FERNFH
Adjunct Faculty, University of Education Upper Austria, Inclusive Education
Adjunct Faculty, University of Vienna, Institute of Educational Science, Center for Teacher Education
Adjunct Faculty, Ferdinand Porsche Distance Learning University, Bachelor’s Degree in “Aging Services Management”
Visiting Faculty, FH Campus Wien, University of Applied Sciences Master’s Program in “Health Assisting Engineering”
Adjunct Faculty, University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, Speech-Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy
Lecturer in the “Assistive Technologies” course, University of Linz, Institute for Integrated Studies
Scientist, Project Manager at AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Innovation Systems, Technology Experience Business Unit, and the Health & Environment Department, Biomedical Systems
Project Staff Member, IBM Austria
Founder, Consultant, Integr@Point e.V., Counseling Center for Assistive Technologies and Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Graduate student, project assistant, formerly with ARC Seibersdorf Research GmbH
Education
Doctoral studies at the University of Vienna, Educational Science
Bachelor's degree in Education with a combination of Special Education and Therapeutic Education, major: Special Education and Therapeutic Education
Awards
Best Poster Awardat the conference “Challenges in Dementia Care: Can Technology Help People with Dementia?”, Norway: Barbara Prazak, Andreas Hochgatterer, Gerald Gatterer: The Importance of User Involvement in Software Design.
Teaching Award for Excellence in Distance Learningat Ferdinand Porsche FERNFH, 2nd Place for the Course “Ambient Assisted Living”
Review Activities
- ICCHP – International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, as well as for the Young Researcher Consortium as part of the conference.
- Journal of Gerontechnology
Memberships in scientific societies
- Association for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Inc.