Note: This is an automated translation (using DeepL) of the original German article.
Niki Popper founded the research company dwh GmbH and the film animation and data journalism company "drahtwarenhandlung" in 2003, after studying and working as a science and data journalist at the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF). Both companies are still operating successfully, Niki Popper is CSO of dwh GmbH.
Since 2010 Niki Popper has been focusing on research activities again and completed his PhD in comparative and hybrid modeling and simulation in 2015. Starting in 2014, DEXHELPP (Decision Support for Health Policy and Planning, founded as an FFG COMET initiative) was established under his leadership. DEXHELPP is the prototypical scientific facility where secure and transparent data linkage processes between the health system with its different players and the research community are developed and implemented in practice.
In addition to founding the interfaculty center COCOS at TU Wien in 2017, Popper is specifically dedicated to the development and implementation of complex, interdisciplinary research platforms and projects in various fields. In each case, the focus is on the modeling, evaluation and further development of dynamic socio-technical systems such as freight mobility (e.g., together with the University of Vienna, AAU Klagenfurt, ÖBB, Vienna Municipality), energy processes (e.g., together with TU Graz, University of Graz, RWTH Aachen, E. ON, Energie Allianz Austria), infrastructure planning (e.g. together with WU Vienna), production (e.g. with Siemens, ATP, Berndorf, Infineon) and health processes (e.g. together with Harvard School of Public Health, IMBA, IMP, University of Vienna, IHS, AIHTA, Ministry of Health, Dachverband der Sozialversicherungen). Niki Popper and his group were thus able to acquire 7.25 million Euros in competitive scientific funding in recent years (excluding industry funding).
Niki Popper was and is during the COVID-19 crisis with TU Vienna, DEXHELPP and dwh GmbH part of the forecasting consortium of the Ministry of Health, and thus responsible for a number of studies and monitoring in the areas of development of testing strategies, as well as supporting the National Vaccination Panel in prioritizing and planning the vaccination strategy for Austria. It is also an honorary member of the Technical Committee "COVID19 Advisory Board" of the Supreme Sanitary Council of the Republic of Austria (OSR).
In his research Niki Popper is engaged in the development of methods for selection, comparison and combination of different modeling methods, for the implementation of simulations of dynamic socio-technical systems to increase their effectiveness, equity and resilience. In addition to the methodological comparison and the development of new combination possibilities, the integration of the models into transparent, comprehensible and reproducible data processes is in the foreground of the research.
Current research projects focus on the further development of the population model GEPOC for Austria and other countries, which was launched in 2010. This model enables the modular mapping of the Austrian population with different data, processes and infrastructures in order to model and analyze current developments as well as future scenarios. Thus, different models and perspectives can be coupled in a sustainable, quality-assured and resource-efficient way to integrate the views of different scientific disciplines.
For detailed information see also CV in pdf form.