The Digital Humanities Center (LU DHC) of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Latvia, established in February 2025, is a strategic driving force for the development of digital humanities in Latvia and at the University of Latvia. The Center aims to strengthen this interdisciplinary field by integrating research, education, digital infrastructure development, and international collaboration into a unified and purposeful ecosystem. The Center is led by Associate Tenure Professor Sanita Reinsone.
The activities of LU DHC focus on four main areas:
- research – international research and development projects in digital cultural heritage, digital folkloristics, life writing, language technologies and artificial intelligence, as well as the study of digital transformation processes, including the history of the internet in Latvia, and other topics related to digital humanities.
- education – a digital humanities study course (6 ECTS) offered in various bachelor’s programs at the Faculty of Humanities, organization of the Baltic Summer School, and participation in the development of international study courses and educational materials.
- digital infrastructure for the humanities – creation and development of resources in cooperation with partners, provision of consultations, and diverse international collaboration, including participation in DARIAH-EU and CLARIN-LV.
- DH communication and collaboration – organization of events, promotion of collaboration within and beyond the University of Latvia, implementation of digital public humanities initiatives, and strengthening the visibility of digital humanities, including coordination of the Latvian digital humanities collaboration platform digitalhumanities.lv.
AISTER
AISTER is an international Erasmus+ KA2 project aimed at developing artificial intelligence and civic engagement solutions for cultural heritage preservation, with a special focus on Ukraine. The project brings together researchers from computer science, cultural heritage studies, and social sciences to create innovative approaches to education and public engagement. AISTER strengthens the role of universities in socially relevant AI research while developing digital skills among students and society and encouraging participation in protecting endangered cultural heritage.
ȬPEN
ȬPEN (OPEN) is a University of Latvia project aimed at developing open knowledge ecosystems and digital solutions for strengthening citizen science in Latvia. The project brings together researchers, cultural heritage institutions, and the public to promote participation in knowledge creation and expand access to language and cultural heritage in the digital environment. It develops AI solutions, including handwriting and speech recognition technologies for Latvian, Latgalian, and Livonian languages, while also strengthening digital skills and promoting open, sustainable knowledge circulation.
DigiLATE
DigiLATE is a national research program project aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the Latvian language in the digital environment by developing modern language resources and AI solutions. The project creates new text, speech, and sign language corpora, improves platforms such as Tēzaurs.lv and Korpuss.lv, and develops speech recognition and synthesis technologies. By bringing together experts in linguistics, computational linguistics, and digital humanities, DigiLATE strengthens Latvia’s position in digital humanities and promotes the development of open and inclusive language technologies for societal needs.
NAMS
NAMS is a national research program project exploring how Latvian identity can serve as a resource for societal resilience in the context of contemporary geopolitical uncertainty. The project views identity as a multilayered and dynamic system where academic, folk, and creative knowledge interact, analyzed through archival research, fieldwork, and public opinion studies. NAMS pays particular attention to cultural heritage and folklore as important identity resources while also developing practical recommendations for policymakers and strengthening the resilience of Latvia’s cultural space for the future.
Head of the center
Associate Professor Sanita Reinsone
Personnel
Ilze Ļaksa-Timinska, PhD.
Senior Expert
E-mail: ilze.laksa-timinska@lu.lv
Research ID: https://research.lu.lv/lv/persons/ilze-%C4%BCaksa-timinska/
Research interests: digital archives, digitization, NLP, autobiographical materials, diaries, narrative research, political ideologies, relationships between art and politics.
Viesturs Vēveris
Research Assistant (acting), Doctoral Student
E-mail: viesturs.veveris@lu.lv
Research ID: https://research.lu.lv/lv/persons/viesturs-v%C4%93veris
Research interests: ICT technologies in everyday life, oral history, data visualization.
Luīze Frančeska Dakša
Research Assistant (acting), Doctoral Student
E-mail: luize_franceska.daksa@lu.lv
Research interests: digital archiving, digital academic publishing, data visualization, open science and science communication, the impact of technology on culture, life writing and digital folklore, posthumanism and feminism.
Haralds Matulis
Doctoral Student
E-mail: haralds.matulis@lu.lv
Research ID: https://research.lu.lv/lv/persons/haralds-matulis
Research interests: digital humanities, data management practices, research infrastructure, life writing, literary studies.
Edeite Laime
Research Assistant (acting), Master’s Student
E-mail: edeite.laime@lu.lv
Research ID: https://research.lu.lv/en/persons/edeite-laime
Research interests: history of the Latgalian language and contemporary sociolinguistic processes, standardization of the Latgalian language, possibilities of the Latgalian language in digital humanities, digital folklore archives.
Simona Kaščejeva
Laboratory Assistant, Bachelor’s Student
E-mail: simona.kascejeva@lu.lv
Research ID: https://research.lu.lv/en/persons/simona-ka%C5%A1%C4%8Dejeva
Research interests: data visualization, digitization, legends and folk tales.