Sarah Dégallier Rochat
Tagline:Head Humane Digital Transformation | Technology for Empowerment | Alternative Narratives of Technology
Bern, Schweiz
About Me
As Head of Humane Digital Transformation at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), I advocate for a technology development that prioritizes human dignity and potential, driving toward an inclusive and equitable digital future.
Public engagement is a core part of my role. I am committed to organizing talks and workshops in French, German and English that explore the human dimensions of digital transformation. These events foster critical dialogue about how we can shape technology to serve society's needs.
My research focuses on co-creating empowering human-machine interactions through participatory design approaches and the development of effective upskilling strategies for both students and industrial workers. Another focus of my work is examining how techno-narratives shape our collective imagination of technological possibilities and constraints. I explore how prevalent narratives about technology influence decision-making processes, striving to develop counter-narratives that prioritize human agency and democratic participation in technological development.
With the startup Auto-Mate Robotics, I lead partnerships with manufacturing firms to implement hybrid solutions that strategically integrate automation efficiency while fostering worker upskilling, improving productivity, organizational resilience, and employee development.
Talks, Panels & Workshops
Workshop "KI verstehen, Bildung gestalten"
Date: Jun 2026
Event name: BFH Virtuelle Akademie - Workshops .Location: Bern .
Description:Wie beeinflusst KI unsere Bildung? Dieser Workshop geht weniger um KI selbst als um Bildung in einer Welt mit KI. Wir hinterfragen Narrative, diskutieren ethische Herausforderungen und analysieren die Perspektive von Studierenden. Ziel ist es, Ansätze für eine reflektierte und resiliente Bildungspraxis zu entwickeln.
Was kann Künstliche Intelligenz, wo liegen die Grenzen?
Date: Jun 2026
Event name: Mäntigs-Treff der evangelisch-reformierten Kirchgemeinde Lauterbrunnen .Location: Lauterbrunnen .
Description:Die Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) ist in aller Munde, und doch scheint sie nicht richtig fassbar. Wo wird die KI eingesetzt, wird sie uns helfen, effizienter oder produktiver zu werden, oder wird sie auf die gleiche Stelle wie der Mensch gesetzt? Sarah Rochat hat in Robotik, Mathematik und Psychologie geforscht und berichtet über Fakten, Chancen und Herausforderungen der KI.
IA et rhétorique de l'innovation : quand le futur efface le présent
Date: Apr 2026
Event name: Colloque "IA dans/contre l'espace public" .Location: Université de Lausanne .
Description:Les récits sur l’intelligence artificielle et la robotique sont souvent accompagnés de démonstrations spectaculaires, de vidéos virales et d’annonces de « ruptures » qui donnent l’impression d’une technologie se déployant d’elle-même à un rythme effréné. Dans cette présentation, j’argumente que cette mise en scène vise à occulter les choix sociaux, économiques et politiques qui orientent les développements technologiques et à les exclure ainsi du débat public. À partir de l’exemple de la robotique humanoïde, souvent présentée comme une solution naturelle à la crise des soins, j’analyse comment les rhétoriques d’innovation dominantes contribuent à dévaloriser et à invisibiliser le travail vivant, donnant l’impression que son automatisation est non seulement possible, mais aussi désirable. Je termine en argumentant que la mise en lumière des rapports de force, des mécanismes d’exclusion et des impacts à long terme renforcés par ces rhétoriques est nécessaire pour rétablir un débat démocratique sur le développement technologique et l’innovation.
Workshop: Future of (Human) Work
Date: Feb 2026
Event name: Workshop: Future of (Human) Work .Location: Bienne .
Description:Join us for a workshop exploring the role of humanoid robots in the Swiss workplace. By engaging in discussions on the socio-technical dimensions of robotics, this workshop aims to create a space for reflection on the future of work we want to create. Together, we will examine the respective roles of humans and technology in this future, as well as the opportunities, challenges, and responsibilities of researchers, industry, and society.
Panel: Humans vs. Humanoids? Rethinking Industry, Work and Collaboration
Date: Feb 2026
Event name: International Humanoid Forum .Location: SIP, Bienne .
Description:Humanoid robots are entering industrial workplaces, raising fundamental questions about the future of work. This panel explores how humanoids will reshape industry, human roles, and collaboration. Are they tools, teammates or competitors – and how can industry integrate them in a human-centric way?
Event Organization
BFH Business Breakfast - GenAI without the hype: practical, efficient and human-centered applications for your workforce
Issue date: Mar 2026,
Issued by: BFH .
Description:How to provide actionable strategies to deploy AI that empower your teams, drive resilience, and create lasting impact from day one. Connect, share, and learn at the BFH Business Breakfast.
Bienne s'engage - Prendre le numérique en main / Biel engagiert sich: Den digitalen Wandel aktiv gestalten
Issue date: Nov 2025,
Expires date: Nov 2025,
Issued by: with the City and the City Library of Biel .
Description:The Digital Days offer a space
to learn, experiment, and
exchange ideas. How can I protect my
data? How can I use artificial intelligence
responsibly? What kind of digital future do
we want for our city?BFH Business Breakfast - Change Management
Issue date: Oct 2025,
Issued by: with Zentrum für Innovation und Digatilisierung .
Who programs the future?
Issue date: Sep 2025,
Issued by: with Frauenplatz and the library of Biel .
Description:A workshop and panel discussion about women, AI and power.
Swiss AI Weeks: KI for KMUs
Issue date: Sep 2025,
Issued by: with Swiss AI Weeks .
Description:Join us for an afternoon dedicated to demystifying AI. This event cuts through the hype to show you what’s possible with AI in your business today – without the complexity, massive budgets, or technical expertise typically associated with AI implementation.
Projects
SkillCraft@Work: Digital Upskilling at the Workplace
date: 2026Organization:Cobooster
Description:This project seeks to develop a workplace-based education initiative that enables existing Swiss employees to acquire the digital and transversal skills necessary for today’s evolving work environment with a special focus on AI. By focusing on internal talent development, the program addresses Switzerland’s skills shortage through reskilling rather than relying solely on external recruitment.
We are currently building a consortium of companies that would benefit from such an initiative, but also a partner to manage the education program. Our immediate priority is conducting a comprehensive needs assessment to identify the most relevant skill sets, determine effective pedagogical approaches, and map the required expertise and partnerships. Based on these findings, we plan to submit a comprehensive project proposal to develop the educational materials and framework.
Reframing AI Narratives Through Creative Expression
date: 2026Organization:SNF Agora
Description:Research shows how tech companies strategically fuel hype to obscure risks, concentrate power, and promote ideologies that weaken democratic oversight. These narratives portray AI as inevitable and self-justifying, sidelining public debate and ethical scrutiny.
Our project counters this by empowering youth to critically engage with dominant tech stories and co-create inclusive, emotionally resonant alternatives. By creating spaces for young people to explore, critique, and reimagine the role of AI through creative expression, we aim to foster pluralistic and socially grounded visions of technological development that reflect lived experience rather than corporate ideology.
More precisely, this project seeks to empower young individuals to develop their narrative agency—the ability to critically engage with dominant tech narratives and craft meaningful counter-stories.
Grounded in an art-based methodology, the approach recognizes creative
expression as a vital bridge between emotional experience and discursive thought. Through speculative design, participants are invited to explore possible futures, reclaiming the space of technological imagination as a site of democratic possibility.Abstraction, the Missing Link in Early Computational Thinking Education
date: 2025Organization:BeLEARN
Smart Dispensing: Programming of a complex deposit task through learning from demonstration
date: 2023Organization:Innosuisse
Description:Development of a flexible robot system which can be programmed by demonstration by operators to enable the watchmaking industry to automate the application of luminous compounds to watch indices and hands.
Augmenting workers with mixed reality
date: 2022Organization:BFH Humane Digital Transformation
Description:In this project, the goal is to develop a wizard interface based on mixed reality that allows workers not only to perform the task, but also to gain the needed feeling of control over the machine.
Power-Up! Making Automation Profitable for High-Mix Low-Volume Production
date: 2022Organization:Gebert Rüf Stiftung
Description:Creation of a start-up developing flexible and collaborative automation systems for companies manufacturing products with high-mix and low-volume.
Agile Robotics for High-Mix Low-Volume Production
date: 2022Organization:Innosuisse
Description:Traditional automation is not profitable for high-mix low-volume production. The project’s goal is to develop an intuitive yet flexible automation system that allows companies to develop their own automation solutions in a profitable way.
Upskill at Work
date: 2021Organization:BFH Intern Call
Description:Digitization is redefining work and the skills required of workers. In particular, new interfaces for acquiring robot control skills are needed for agile production.
Draw Your Task: Robot Programming by Demonstration
date: 2021Organization:NTN MicroBooster
Description:The goal of the project is to develop a prototype that allows robot programming by demonstration and to evaluate its potential for the Swiss industry. The goal is to simplify robotic programming for intuitive and fast re-tasking of robots.
Cobotics, digital skills and the re-humanization of the workspace
date: 2020Organization:SNF (NRP77 - Digital Transformation)
Description:Technologies such as cobotics and AI are transforming the way humans and machines interact in the industrial world. The way these technologies are implemented will influence this transformation and its impact on the worker.
Publications
Robots that Look Like Us - How Deceptive Design Can Shape the Value of Human Labor
Conference PaperPublisher: Reassessing the Social – Understanding Transformation. Proceedings of the Social Design Network Conference, Lucerne, Switzerland.Date:2025Authors:Sarrah Dégallier RochatLosing Human Identity: Current Threats and Challenges of Robotics and AI
Book ChapterPublisher:Social Robots with AI: Prospects, Risks, and Responsible MethodsDate:2025Authors:Olena YatsenkoOleksandra SushchenkoSarah Dégallier RochatIntuitive Robot Programming: Giving Back the Control to the Workers
Book ChapterPublisher:Ergonomics in Robotics, Springer - in preparation Date:2025Authors:Charly BlancJulius JankowskiAndreas SondereggerSylvain CalinonSarah Dégallier RochatEmpowering Production Workers to Program Robots: A No-Code, Skill-Based Approach
Conference PaperPublisher:International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and ApplicationsDate:2023Authors:Charly BlancLionel BoudryAndreas SondereggerJulien NembriniSarah Dégallier-RochatHuman augmentation, not replacement: A research agenda for AI and robotics in the industry
Journal ArticlePublisher:Frontiers in Robotics and AIDate:2022Authors:Sarah Dégallier-RochatMascha Kurpicz-BrikiNada EndrissatOlena Yatsenko
Media Appearances
Les robots humanoïdes, de l'esbrouffe ?
From: 2026
Interview RJB - Trait d'Union (Laurent Steulet) - 11.03.26
OpenAI veut absolument lancer une version de ChatGPT avec du contenu érotique, malgré de nombreux risques déjà identifiés
From: 2026
Le Temps - Interview (Anouch Seydtaghia)
Les "Digital Days 2025" à Bienne
From: 2025
Interview RJB - Trait d'Union (Laurent Steulet) - 12.11.25
Why are we speaking so much about AI?
From: 2025
Interview Telebielingue 5.12.25
Reportage - 3 Years of ChatGPT
From: 2025
Interview - Telebielingue de Simon Petignat
Affiliations
Co-leader Group Research & Education
from: 2025, until: presentOrganization:AllIiance Digital Inclusion SwitzerlandLocation:Bern
Description:We break down digital barriers and create an inclusive digital future for everyone. That is our mission.
SNSF BRIDGE Discovery Evaluation Panel
from: 2025, until: presentOrganization:Swiss National Sciences Fundation (SNSF)Location:Bern
Description:BRIDGE is a joint programme of the Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF and Innosuisse - the Swiss Agency for Innovation Promotion. It offers funding at the interface of basic research and science-based innovation.
SNSF Ambizione Evaluation Panel
from: 2025, until: presentOrganization:Swiss National Sciences FundationLocation:Bern
Description:Ambizione grants are aimed at early career researchers who wish to conduct, manage and lead an independent project at a Swiss higher education institution.
Supervisory Board of the BeLEARN Graduate School Digitality & Education
from: 2025, until: presentOrganization:BeLEARNLocation:Bern
Description:The interdisciplinary and interfaculty Graduate School “Digitality and Education” is a collaborative project between the University of Bern, the Bern University of Teacher Education (PHBern) and the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH).
Working Group "AI, research & integrity"
from: 2025, until: 2026Organization:Swiss Universities
Description:The development of a supplement to the Code of Conduct for Scientific Integrity for GenAI applications.
Auto-Mate Robotics Main Advisor
from: 2024, until: presentOrganization:Auto-Mate Robotics
Description:Your partner for the future of automation. Say goodbye to complex training and intricate programming – our user-friendly design makes adapting robot applications as easy as operating your smartphone. Bring flexibility and innovation to your manufacturing processes.
EUA Task and Finish Group on AI
from: 2024, until: 2025Organization:European University AssociationLocation:Brussels
Description:The European University Association (EUA) is the collective voice of the universities of Europe, institutions that have shaped our world for a millennium.
S3C Advisory Board
from: 2023, until: presentOrganization:Swiss Cobotics Competence CenterLocation:Biel
Description:The Swiss Cobotics Competence Center (S3C) offers a space to all companies that want to increase their production line’s flexibility and their workforce’s capabilities.
NTN Robotics Innovation Management Committee
from: 2022, until: presentOrganization:Innovation Booster Robotics
Description:Innovation Booster Robotics, is a program dedicated to fostering radical innovation in the Swiss robotics ecosystem.
SNSF PtS Evaluation Panel
from: 2020, until: 2024Organization:Swiss National Sciences Fundation
Description:The SNSF awards PtS grants to qualified experts with proven practical experience who wish to join a university of applied sciences or a university of teacher education as a professor, and to newly appointed professors at a university of applied sciences or a university of teacher education who wish to strengthen the academic component of their dual scientific-practical skill profile.
Honors & Awards
CHIRA Best Paper Awards
date: 2023-11-17Issuer:International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications
Description:Best Paper Awards for the Article: Empowering Production Workers to Program Robots: A No-Code, Skill-Based Approach, Blanc, Charly and Boudry, Lionel and Sonderegger, Andreas and Nembrini, Julien and Dégallier-Rochat, Sarah.
Industry 4.0 Shapers
date: 2019-07-01Issuer:Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Neuchatel, Jura and Vaud
Description:Award to thank personalities from French-speaking Switzerland for their contributions to the development of innovation in the Swiss Industry.
Work Experiences
Head BFH Humane Digital Transformation
from: 2023, until: presentOrganization:Bern University of Applied Sciences BFHLocation:Bern, CH
Researcher in Robotics
from: 2019, until: presentOrganization:Bern University of Applied Sciences BFHLocation:Bern
Professor in Mathematics
from: 2014, until: 2023Organization:Bern University of Applied Sciences BFHLocation:Bienne
Enseignante
from: 2012, until: 2014Organization:Gymnase de Burier
Post-Doctoral Researcher
from: 2010, until: 2012Organization:CNBI Lab, EPFL
PhD Student
from: 2006, until: 2010Organization:CNBI Lab, EPFL
Education
Diplôme d'enseignement pour le secondaire II
from: 2012, until: 2013Field of study:MathématiquesSchool:Haute Ecole Pédagogique de Lausanne (HEPL)
Ph.D in Computer Sciences
from: 2006, until: 2010Field of study:RoboticsSchool:Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Location:Lausanne, CH
DescriptionTitle: Discrete and Rhythmic Motor Primitives for the Control of Humanoid Robots
Master in Engineering
from: 2000, until: 2005Field of study:MathematicsSchool:Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Location:Lausanne, CH
DescriptionComparison of allelic spectra for diagnostic purposes
Demi-Licence
from: 1998, until: 2000Field of study:PsychologieSchool:University of Lausanne - UNIL