Annalena Rotsch is a PhD candidate at the Chair of Law and Artificial Intelligence. Her research focuses on the role of artificial intelligence in education, paying particular attention to the EU AI Act, privacy, data protection and the implications for fundamental rights. She investigates the opportunities and risks that AI presents in classrooms and universities, and considers how law can protect learners while encouraging innovation.

Having studied German-French Law at the University of Cologne and the Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, she earned both a Bachelor of Laws and a Maîtrise en Droit before returning to Cologne to complete her First State Examination.

Outside of academia, Annalena gained practical experience in the field of AI as part of the legal team at DeepL, a leading German AI provider. She also worked at a media law firm, focusing on AI-related issues from the rights holder’s perspective. These complementary insights now inform her research, grounding it in the realities of how AI is developed, used and contested.