Michaela Schmidt
About
I am a PhD student at the Department of Computer Science at NTNU, affiliated with the interdisciplinary Sustainable Digital Transformation project. My research focuses on digitalization in the public sector, specifically on how citizens experience and navigate digital public services. In my project, I collaborate with the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration (NAV).
My research sits at the intersection of information systems and e-government, and I am interested in understanding the tension between the inherent complexity of welfare services and the need to design user-friendly digital solutions that provide easy access to public services. When digital public services fail to handle the inherent complexity of the services they are meant to facilitate, citizens risk losing access to the services and benefits they are entitled to. Therefore, I approach the issue of trustworthy digital public services as a matter of social equity, not just a technical problem.
My interest in the relationship between technology and society began during my MSc in Urban Ecological Planning at NTNU (2019-2021), which had a strong focus on sustainability and smart city technology.
Professional & Community Service
- Conference organization: Member of the organizing committee for the 28th ACM SIGCHI Conference on Computer‑Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (CSCW), 2025.
- Student representation: PhD Representative at the Department of Computer Science Research Committee (2024‑2026), and on the Department’s Extended Management Group (2026‑2027).
- Teaching experience: Teaching Assistant for master‑level courses, Research-based digitalization, and Cooperation Technology and Social Media, lecturing, grading assignments, and mentoring students.
Research
Publications
2025
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Heggertveit, Ida;
Rydén, Hanne Sara-Maria Höglund;
Farshchian, Babak A..
(2025)
Succeeding in Digital Self-service: Knowledge-Sharing in Citizen-Caseworker Interactions.
Academic chapter
2024
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Farshchian, Babak Amin.
(2024)
The impact of digitalization on frontline employees’ knowledge work – a literature review.
Reports of the European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies
Academic literature review
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Divitini, Monica;
Hohenbüchler, Christine;
Ringdal, Nora Othilie;
Schütz, Theresa;
Tellioglu, Hilda.
(2024)
Infrastructure and Creativity: Can they co-exist? (workshop description).
Reports of the European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies
Academic article
2023
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Farshchian, Babak Amin;
Hofmann, Sara.
(2023)
The digital public encounter.
Reports of the European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies
Academic article
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Cristea, Rares;
Parmiggiani, Elena;
Hjelsvold, Rune.
(2023)
Sustainability integration in a higher education computer science department – a case study.
NIKT: Norsk IKT-konferanse for forskning og utdanning
Academic article
Journal publications
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Farshchian, Babak Amin;
Hofmann, Sara.
(2023)
The digital public encounter.
Reports of the European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies
Academic article
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Farshchian, Babak Amin.
(2024)
The impact of digitalization on frontline employees’ knowledge work – a literature review.
Reports of the European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies
Academic literature review
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Cristea, Rares;
Parmiggiani, Elena;
Hjelsvold, Rune.
(2023)
Sustainability integration in a higher education computer science department – a case study.
NIKT: Norsk IKT-konferanse for forskning og utdanning
Academic article
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Divitini, Monica;
Hohenbüchler, Christine;
Ringdal, Nora Othilie;
Schütz, Theresa;
Tellioglu, Hilda.
(2024)
Infrastructure and Creativity: Can they co-exist? (workshop description).
Reports of the European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies
Academic article
Part of book/report
-
Schmidt, Michaela Margarethe;
Heggertveit, Ida;
Rydén, Hanne Sara-Maria Höglund;
Farshchian, Babak A..
(2025)
Succeeding in Digital Self-service: Knowledge-Sharing in Citizen-Caseworker Interactions.
Academic chapter
Outreach
2024
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LectureSchmidt, Michaela Margarethe. (2024) Det digitale møtet – innsikter fra litteraturen. NAV + Akademia = Sant? Samhandling med brukeren
2023
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Conference lectureSchmidt, Michaela Margarethe; Cristea, Rares; Parmiggiani, Elena; Hjelsvold, Rune. (2023) Sustainability integration in a higher education computer science department – a case study. NIKT 2023