Culture meets AI: students make museums fit for the future

Master's students Arlette Numutali, Julian Dambach and Abishek Pathmarajah are studying business administration at RPTU. On the subject of “Innovation Management”, they were able to tackle a current practical question - the challenge: How do museums become fit for the future? What makes visitor numbers soar? And how can you also score points with younger people with cultural offerings? The approach: making better use of the possibilities of AI and digitalization - in order to provide an individualized offer.

Master's students Arlette Numutali, Julian Dambach and Abishek Pathmarajah are studying business administration at RPTU. On the subject of “Innovation Management”, they were able to tackle a current practical question - the challenge: How do museums become fit for the future? What makes visitor numbers soar? And how can you also score points with younger people with cultural offerings? The approach: making better use of the possibilities of AI and digitalization - in order to provide an individualized offer.
Originally from Rwanda, Arlette Numutali has been studying for a Master's degree in Business Administration at RPTU for one semester. “I came to Germany to study because I wanted to do something in the field of production later on” - and Germany is known for its expertise in this area, she says. In Bremen, she had previously studied a Bachelor's degree course with a focus on industrial engineering. “This course was very interdisciplinary. That appealed to me.” She didn't want to miss out on the diversity that came with it in her Master's degree: “I then looked around, researched which places to study and which degree courses were suitable for me.” RPTU turned out to be the most attractive, she says. Because here you have a choice of different specializations in business studies: Marketing management, for example, digital transformation management, logistics, production management, financial management or even sustainability management. Arlette Numutali opted to focus on innovation management and sustainability management. The international nature of the course also appealed to her, she adds: “We have an international community here at RPTU.” Another plus point: students benefit from international collaborations. “For example, there was a project with French students. They were guests here in Kaiserslautern. In the field of innovation management, we worked together on innovative measures in the production of bicycles.”

You can always grow with business studies. There are always career opportunities later on
Fellow student Julian Dambach is studying business administration in his third master's semester. He is specializing in strategy, innovation and cooperation, digital transformation management and marketing management. “I came to RPTU because I had initially studied integrative social sciences. But I quickly realized that I was more interested in business topics,” says the 27-year-old, who originally comes from near Pforzheim. Abishek Pathmarajah, on the other hand, is in his second semester of business studies. He is specializing in strategy, innovation and cooperation, digital transformation management and entrepreneurship. Why did he decide to study economics? “Because you can always grow with it. There are always career opportunities later on.” This is not the case with many other subjects in this way: “With many other degrees, a future career is already certain.” And why RPTU as a place to study? “I come from the Saarland and wanted to get out and about.” He is passionate about basketball. “I had the opportunity to play for FC Kaiserslautern. And it all fell into place.”

Cultural organizations, such as museums, are in strong competition with other leisure activities, especially among younger people
Arlette Numutali, Julian Dambach and Abishek Pathmarajah - together with 17 other business administration students - worked on a case study last summer semester. This was initiated by the Chair of Strategy, Innovation and Cooperation at RPTU, the Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern and the software developer Insiders Technologies. “The cultural sector in Germany is not often associated with AI or digitalization,” says Arlette Numutali, describing the initial situation. “Our task was to see how the two could be combined.” The students began by doing some research. “And we discovered that cultural institutions, such as museums, are in strong competition with other leisure activities, especially among younger people.” Amusement parks, for example, or gaming activities, explains the student. “So we had to find out how to make cultural experiences more valuable for customers.” 

Arlette Numutali, Julian Dambach and Abishek Pathmarajah, each involved in various small student groups, “brainstormed” solutions, as they say. “The ideas had to fit in with the museum and, of course, not cost too much. Public institutions don't usually have a lot of money,” explains Julian Dambach, knowing full well that as a business economist he should always have the right figures in mind.
The students' final solutions are impressive: Arlette Numutali and her group have come up with an app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to adapt the museum visit to the individual interests of visitors. Arlette Numutali: “The app collects information at the start of a museum visit. For example, if you are interested in art from the 19th century, the app will show you this in particular.” And she adds: “At the end of the museum visit, the app can also create a souvenir tailored to the visitor's interests, for example.” A special photo perhaps - or a video.

The aim: to make the museum visit more personal
The groups led by Julian Dambach and Abishek Pathmarajah have similar approaches. What they all have in common is that they want to personalize the museum visit experience. Julian Dambach: “Our idea was a chatbot that the visitor talks to. A chatbot that speaks from the artist's perspective.” Abishek Pathmarajah: “In our group, we first researched what competitors with higher visitor numbers do differently.” One conclusion: they interact more with the younger target group via social media. They therefore offer a more focused, personalized approach. “We wanted to combine this strength with AI, and that's how we came up with the idea of an AI-supported tour guide.” A tour guide that adapts to its counterpart: “Visitors from France, for example, get a tour that is specifically aimed at them.” In turn, people with disabilities could be given a tour in simple language. “In the same way, there is also the option of receiving a very complex tour in complex language.” Abishek Pathmarajah: “The focus is on the user experience.”

Studying business administration teaches you to implement your own business ideas
The ideas presented now serve as an incentive for the Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern. The practical project is now complete for the three Master's students. Julian Dambach appreciates that his business studies course offers him such practical opportunities: “As a student, you work together with companies. You get feedback from practice, which helps you to develop further.” Contacts in the real world, so to speak - with real-life issues. Incidentally, he personally could imagine working in sales later on. “I would also be interested in a mixture of sales and strategy.”
Arlette Numutali is leaving RPTU in the winter semester: “I have a scholarship and am going to Finland. I'm going to study Global Innovation Management there.” However, she can imagine returning to RPTU afterwards to do a doctorate. And Abishek Pathmarajah is aiming for self-employment later on and wants to develop his own business ideas: “I'm learning the most important tools for this during my studies.” Either way, with the practical project on culture and AI, all three have shown that they are certainly not lacking in commitment and creativity.