Opportunities for Early Career Researchers

With TechHeritage, doctoral student Clemens Janke from the Institute of History aims to preserve and (re)activate the material cultural heritage of TU Braunschweig by cataloguing the "Technical Heritage" collection, the "Measurement Technology Collection" of the Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, and the "Teaching Card Collection" of the Institute of History.

Through intergenerational exchange between the academic and non-academic groups involved in the project in a citizen science format, knowledge that has only been developed and made accessible through scientific examination of the collection objects is shared with future generations.

A preliminary course and an interdisciplinary workshop (in April 2026) will form the content and methodological framework for the exhibition of the collection objects (July 2026). The project will conclude with a publication Interaction with the collection objects reveals historical interconnections between the city, economy and science, while also opening up new intergenerational opportunities for an equal, multifaceted and conscientious future.

Sustainability is not only taught through additional content, but also through the perception of sustainability-related situations in educational activities. The decisive factor is whether teachers recognise when an opportunity arises.

This is where the project by Yulia Edeleva and Gina Do Manh (Institute of German Studies, TU Braunschweig) comes in. A new professionalisation format for the "BNE Safaris" is being developed: with the help of a structured map system and an optional AR-supported observation environment, teachers can identify teaching situations in which ecological, social, economic or ethical issues arise implicitly or explicitly. These moments are documented and utilised for reflection and professional development processes.

The aim of the project is to reduce the so-called belief-practice gaps, i.e. the discrepancies between teachers' sustainability-related beliefs and their concrete implementation in the classroom. In addition, the project aims to systematically strengthen institutional learning processes through immersive reflection formats. In addition to school contexts, language education, adult education and international continuing education formats are also included. The project thus opens up prospects for a scalable, transferable internationalisation strategy in the field of sustainability-oriented education.

Land.Komm.Digital addresses the issue of participation in rural areas often coming to nothing: communication channels provide information, but too rarely encourage actual participation. In a design workshop with local stakeholders, specific communication formats are therefore developed to promote participation.

These results are used to create a practical toolkit with design principles that is tested in several organisations and refined iteratively after a few weeks based on a brief impact assessment. This process is scientifically supported by the Chair of Service Information Systems at the Institute for Information Systems.

The aim is to have a demonstrable and tangible impact on communication practices: a more participatory approach that strengthens self-efficacy, promotes engagement and thus provides sustainable support for social participation in rural areas.

How can cultural infrastructure in rural areas be established, maintained and developed in the long term?

The project by Ludger Voigt, PhD student at the Institute for Corporate Management and Organisation, and Julia Beideck, PhD student at the Department of Cooperatives at the University of Cologne, in collaboration with the theatre cooperative Traumschüff e.G., is dedicated to this question.

The aim of the project is to show how cultural services can be provided in rural areas and at the same time enable cultural participation. In addition, the project examines how cultural offerings can promote social exchange in rural regions - especially in places that have not had access to theatre to date.

With PORT-O, PhD student Cindy Demuth from the ITL is developing an interactive learning setting that gets girls interested in STEM subjects. A simulated harbour hinterland scenario is created on a mobile table using Lego, in which Ozobots are programmed to playfully implement real logistical challenges.

In workshops at schools, girls in particular learn through practical programming tasks and direct insights into research that technology and logistics are not male domains.

PORT-O thus combines the early promotion of young talent with the aim of making sustainable transport solutions visible and tangible - and boosts the self-confidence of young women to go their own way in engineering.

The social relevance of "Questions of building research and monument preservation" will be explored using examples from the Institute of Architectural History's research projects on libraries, churches and a school. Research methods and interim results will be discussed in a workshop with keynote speeches, an exhibition and an information trail.

What aspects of the projects will be considered in terms of a shared responsibility for the built heritage? The aim is to strengthen the perception of the project results in the community, to recognise the values of the built environment and to ensure the preservation of knowledge about building as a shared cultural heritage for future generations.