Verena Jäger

Verena Jäger, MBA

Doctoral candidate (1st year)
University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt

A picture of Verena Jäger

Verena Jäger decided to pursue a doctorate at the PZAI because her professional career and teaching experience lie in the field of applied IT systems, making the Hessian Universities of Applied Sciences a natural fit. The practice‑oriented, application‑driven research environment there aligns closely with her focus. She was also convinced by the profound expertise of the professors at the PZAI and their clear commitment to conducting research with practical relevance, which ultimately led her to apply to the doctoral programme. Verena Jäger is a member of the PZAI since September 2025.

As part of her doctorate, Verena Jäger intends to research AI‑based teaching assistant systems in higher education, with a particular emphasis on their ability to adapt to individual students’ needs and learning preferences.

A schematical representation of the research areas in the form of a triangle.
Area of Research

She hopes her research will help address a growing challenge in higher education: teaching large and highly heterogeneous student cohorts while striving to provide individual support, which often places significant demands on instructors. „I hope that my research can contribute to improving this situation by developing an adaptive AI-based teaching assistant that supports students during their self-study phases”, she says. Such a personalized assistant could help learners improve their outcomes in a scalable and sustainable way.

A circular representation of research in the field of information systems.
Information Systems Research according to Nunamaker et. al.

Verena Jäger expects inspiring supervision, constructive guidance, and intellectually challenging sparring at the PZAI. This expectation includes not only close interaction with her supervisors but also stimulating academic exchange and discussion with fellow doctoral candidates.