KIT for All
At KIT, we do not only train outstanding students, we also attach high priority to exchange and interaction with the society. For this reason, we want our research to meet highest demands in terms of transparency and offer a number of participative dialog formats. Our numerous information and training services address people in later phases of their careers and lives, children and adolescents, and all citizens interested in our research. We make available scientific expertise for the democratic process. We identify needs and problems when using new technologies and train tomorrow’s science communicators.
Dates of events at KIT can be found in our calendar of events.
Offers for Children and Teens
Through a wide range of information sessions, workshops, and hands-on activities, curious young people can experience research and technology firsthand at KIT. They can explore university life through the Children’s University, participate in a traineeship during holidays, or invite a KIT student ambassador to visit their classroom. Students in grades 3 through 12 can take part in laboratory programs with their school classes. Highly talented students also have the opportunity to enroll in a special program featuring regular lectures and exercises. In addition, KIT has a long tradition of participating in Girls’ Day, helping to encourage girls to explore STEM fields and careers.
Opportunities for Citizens
KIT also offers a number of public or participative science events that foster dialog between researchers and the public. Pioneer work in this area is accomplished by KIT's General Studies. Forum Science and Society (FORUM), a central institution that places engagement between science and society at the heart of its mission. Colloquium Fundamentale, for example, is a lecture series which each semester explores a socially relevant topic from an interdisciplinary perspective, and the Spring Academy Sustainability, a project-based program that facilitates exchange with sustainability stakeholders from academia and professional practice.
At the Center for Advanced Technological and Environmental Training, professionals may join courses on occupational safety, environmental or health protection, or project management to learn to cope with new challenges of their professions or they can pursue a work-integrated study program. People are also free to attend regular courses as guest students or public online lectures on future trends, such as bioeconomy or renewable resources.
The KIT Centers pool the central interdisciplinary research activities of KIT and also foster direct dialog with society. The KIT Climate and Environment Lecture, for instance, are organized by the KIT Climate, Environment and Resources Center. Here, leading climate and environmental scientists inform about latest facts and research trends. Other KIT Centers, such as the KIT Energy Center, the KIT Information, Systems, Technologies Center, or the KIT Mobility Systems Center also organize public events, presentations, and exchange activities.
A new measure to foster interaction between science and society is the KIT Science Week. This concept was developed in the successful proposal for the University of Excellence and combines a high-ranking international scientific conference with events for the public on technological mega trends, such as artificial intelligence (AI).
At regular intervals, KIT organizes open days to present research facilities, laboratories, and test facilities to the public. Diverse programs offer science to join in, including activities for the young generation. Citizens can also experience fascinating science when joining guided tours of laboratories, large-scale experiments, and other scientific institutions. For many years now, the Young Talents event has been organized. It combines a scientific presentation with a concert and takes place in cooperation with Karlsruhe University of Music.
Offers for Society
The Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) studies systemic relationships and impacts of scientific and technical developments and is one of the leading technology assessment institutions worldwide. Scientists working at the Office of Technology Assessment with the German Bundestag (TAB) support members of parliament making important decisions and develop action options to enhance the resilience of the basic democratic order and to meet the challenges of our times.
Important places of interaction between science and society are the real-world labs initiated by ITAS and partners. Together with citizens and other stakeholders in society, we develop, study, and test in a cooperative and participative way ideas and solutions for problems of vital importance in the areas of climate, energy, urban development, mobility, employment, or social peace. Examples are the Baden-Württemberg Test Area for Autonomous Driving, a real-world lab supporting the development of viable solutions for individual traffic and public passenger transit, and the Karlsruhe Transformation Center for Sustainability and Cultural Change (KAT) that tests integrative sustainability solutions in transdisciplinary experiments carried out in cooperation with science and society.
Good science communication is in the focus of the National Institute for Science Communication NaWik. Here, tested education and training courses on communication with society are offered to scientists. The Science Communication Department of the Institute for Technology Futures organizes science communication training for students parallel to their scientific studies.