From the University
Into Society
How do we want to live? What kind of world do we want to leave behind for future generations? Universities like RWTH have a special role to play in answering important questions about the future: They are responsible for transferring the knowledge they have acquired into society by turning research findings into products and services. They must also communicate science to the public in a particular way – not as a “one-way street,” i.e., solely as lectures, but by offering opportunities for discussion and presenting topics in an accessible way.
RWTH’s Knowledge Hub serves precisely this purpose, as does the RWTHextern citizens’ forum, which has been running very successfully for years with their “Uni im Rathaus” series, the Science Night, and the research magazine RWTH THEMEN, for example.
“5 to 12” RWTH Science Night
How will we produce and use energy in the future? What role does hydrogen play as an energy source, and how can we – every one of us – reduce our energy consumption? What have we learned from the 2021 flood disaster, and how does populism endanger democracy? At the 2022 Science Night, RWTH members provided visitors with answers to these and other questions.
With the Science Night event, which has been running since 2003, RWTH seeks to break down barriers between the public and science and encourage discussion and engagement. The University wants to make it easier for people to understand science and offer them the opportunity to get to know the world of academia.
RWTH THEMEN – A Look at Research
In each of its regularly appearing issues, the science magazine RWTH THEMEN takes a comprehensive yet compact look at one of RWTH’s key research areas. A unique feature of the magazine is that the RWTH researchers write the articles themselves, specifically presenting their research topics and results for the magazine. RWTH THEMEN is usually published once a semester.
In response to the flood disaster in western Germany, the 2021 issue was dedicated to the topic of flooding, featuring articles on risks, consequences, and prevention. In the wake of rising prices and resource bottlenecks for raw materials and energy, the Center for Circular Economy at RWTH – and thus the circular economy – was the focus in 2022. The 2023 edition also deals with energy supply and security. All highly topical and socially relevant issues.
Knowledge Hub – From Structural Change to GreenTech
The Knowledge Hub was launched in 2021 with funds from RWTH’s successful bid in the Universities of Excellence competition, and it has been promoting knowledge transfer to the public ever since. The platform is essential to RWTH’s open science and networking culture, enabling collaboration on projects with citizen participation. The Knowledge Hub is one of the measures of RWTH’s Universities of Excellence proposal and will be funded until 2026.
The Hub will focus on a different topic every year. Kicking things off, the Knowledge Hub focused on structural change in the Rhenish mining area. The last coal-fired power plant in Germany is set to close down by 2038 at the very latest. The accompanying structural change is thus becoming a generational project aimed at achieving an economic, ecological, socially acceptable, and sustainable transformation. RWTH offers a wide range of approaches – gathered under the umbrella of the REVIERa project – to shape structural change successfully in the Rhenish mining area.
Specifically, various online and in-person events on the topic of structural change were organized with the REVIERa team and supported by the Knowledge Hub. Films, podcasts, and publications offered the public an accessible introduction to the world of academia and science by highlighting various aspects of the overarching topic of structural change.
The second key topic of the “Green Technology” Knowledge Hub is innovative environmental technologies. On offer were: Open-air exhibitions on the topics of plastics, the circular economy, and energy, interviews with researchers and the GreenTech Late Night event at Theater Aachen.
GreenTech Expo I and II
In June 2022, RWTH drew attention to the topic of “Plastics and the Circular Economy” with a new type of exhibition in public spaces. At this first GreenTech Expo, the team presented research approaches leading to long-term sustainability in the use of plastics by installing 20 large banners at Templergraben.
This was followed in October 2022 by “GreenTech Expo II” on Energy. Visitors learned how noise reduction can create greater acceptance for wind turbines, how road surfaces or road infrastructure can be used for solar energy, how deep geothermal energy – i.e., using geothermal energy at depths of between 400 and 5,000 meters – can make a significant contribution to a climate-neutral heating market, or how startup founders from RWTH have succeeded in offering an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional electricity storage systems by creating sustainable electricity storage from used e-car batteries.
Looking for even more exciting insights on sustainability from research and practice at RWTH? Here, we have listed some more options for you!
Bringing research “From the Lab to Society” in the first Sustainability Report
RWTHextern event series program
On YouTube
The 2022 Charlemagne Prize winners visit RWTH
A look at the 2022 RWTH Science Night
The Knowledge Hub on YouTube:
A Slice of the Future: Research for the Rhenish Mining District (de)
A Slice of the Future Part 2: GreenTech – Our Foundation for Tomorrow (de)
RWTH and the Rhenish Mining District, Episode 1: Energy (de)
RWTH and the Rhenish Mining District, Episode 2: Productive Landscape (de)
RWTH and the Rhenish Mining District, Episode 3: Materials and Cycles (de)
RWTH and the Rhenish Mining District, Episode 4: Mobility (de)
RWTH in Podcasts: To the Point – Know More in 240 Seconds
Episode 1 – The Circular Economy
Episode 2 – Sustainability
Episode 3 – Clean Energy for Germany
Episode 4 – Gender and Diversity at RWTH