Researching Together with Society – Projects at German Universities

“Spotlights on Knowledge Exchange” is the first study to provide an overview of activities in the area of transdisciplinarity at German universities

Greater cooperation and mutual understanding between science and society is an important strategy for solving the major challenges facing society. In this spirit, the Berlin University Alliance (BUA), the Alliance of Excellence of the four Berlin universities, has produced a study to provide a source of inspiration as well as an overview of current activities. It focuses on universities in Germany with outstanding programs in the area of knowledge exchange. The extensive collection of best practice examples was compiled by the BUA's Research Forums, which forms part of TU Berlin's Science and Society staff unit.

These various beacons for transdisciplinarity or knowledge exchange, i.e., the harmonious interaction between research and society, have yielded impressive results - with some projects already well established. The University of Münster, for example, has been actively networking with its region for some 20 years. Under the slogan “Expedition Münsterland,” it brings scientific sites to life while at the same time receiving input from the population about forgotten sites that still need to be researched. These include former rocket launch sites from the Second World War or abandoned tunnels. Researchers and the local population also work together on projects, such as the establishment of an “agroforestry” where woody plants and annual crops thrive in the same space.

Impulses from society, service for society

“It’s nice to see here that a lot of ideas for projects and events are really being initiated from within society,” says Dr. Ina Opitz, the study's lead author, and head of “Berlin forscht mit!” at the BUA, which also forms part of TU Berlin's Science and Society unit. The University of Münster Foundation also offers a special Citizen Science Award to promote these projects.

Meanwhile at the University of Kassel, scientists and students see themselves as service providers for the population. “Service learning” is the name of the concept that has been used to link academic teaching and social commitment for more than ten years. For example, teacher training students or social work students take on sponsorships for socially disadvantaged children over a period of 10 months – accompanied by support and feedback and a scientific seminar. Prospective agronomists prepare “common good economy balance sheets” for small farms, while engineering students advised the Kassel prison on how to improve its energy balance.

University of Düsseldorf as citizens' university

“The Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf is demonstrating a very special commitment as a citizens’ university,” says Dr. Audrey Podann, head of TU Berlin's Science and Society staff unit and BUA's Research Forums. “This is not just a label; there are dedicated funds available in the university's budget.” Funding is used for projects in teaching, research and science communication Students meet with fans of specific pop cultures to explore with them how pop, as a collective memory machine, shapes society. Working together with those affected, scientists develop new ways of improving health care for people without health insurance coverage in Germany. And as an innovative science communication event, researchers talk self-deprecatingly about their mishaps and setbacks in their work at the "Science Fuckup Night."

A treasure trove of inspiration for transdisciplinary projects

The projects and ideas behind them are listed clearly in “Spotlights on Knowledge Exchange.” There are also many additional links, provided as QR codes in the print edition. The study further includes the activities of the three partner universities of the BUA in the area of transdisciplinarity: Melbourne (Australia), Oxford (UK) and Singapore. “Particularly in the UK, research with society as well as the requirement that society benefit from research is much more self-evident than in our country,” says Ina Opitz. But elsewhere in Europe, too, especially in the Scandinavian countries, there is now a strong movement driving this issue forward.

TU Berlin contributes transdisciplinarity to BUA

With the founding of the Berlin University Alliance of Excellence, the German capital has also become a pioneer in the field of research with society. Indeed, fostering knowledge exchange was one of the five major goals of BUA. A great deal of expertise in this regard has been contributed by TU Berlin. “For us, transdisciplinarity ideally means creating a co-research process where practical knowledge and scientific knowledge come together and where the research question is already designed jointly,” explains Audrey Podann. For example, at the beginning of the BUA's first major research project on social cohesion, a research atlas with possible topics was drawn up together with social actors.

Research Forums as customized exchange formats

A separate knowledge exchange office within the BUA ensures advising, qualification and networking in this area. Variable funding is advertised as calls and grants are awarded to researchers and social actors. TU Berlin organizes Research Forums for the BUA, which are customized exchange formats for various topics. An example is the “Trialoge,” where questions of social cohesion are discussed in relation to nutrition. At the end of November 2022, around 60 stakeholders - from state secretaries to foodsharing activists, from representatives of the state poverty conference to the spokesperson of an organic supermarket - met to discuss the topic of food.

Top-down and bottom-up at TU Berlin

“Of course, as the Science and Society staff unit, we have also initiated many transdisciplinary projects at TU Berlin itself - but many existed before, because this is both a top-down and a bottom-up movement,” says Audrey Podann. The Center for Technology and Society, the kubus science shop, and the Natural Building Lab are just three of 13 projects listed under Technische Universität Berlin in the study. Stadtmanufaktur, TU Berlin's living laboratory platform, is located directly within the Science and Society staff unit and currently networks 18 living laboratories with the participation of social actors and the University. At three locations spread throughout the city, projects include a bicycle lane from east to west, a roof water farm that combines wastewater treatment technology with food production, and “Allesandersplatz” - a community-oriented neighborhood in a vacant high-rise building at Berlin's Alexanderplatz.

Further information

Links to the study

 

 

Contact

Contact

Dr.

Audrey-Catherine Podann

audrey.podann@tu-berlin.de