Current program
Here you can find all information about the lectures in the summer semester 2025.
April 1, 2025 | 17:30 | TUD Dresden University of Technology, Auditorium Center, Lecture Hall 03 (Bergstr. 64, 01069 Dresden)
From class voting to the Bundestag election - Why do we vote?
Stefanie Gerstenberger
Institute of Political Science, TU Dresden
Imagine there was a game where nobody knew what the rules were - that would be chaos! That's why we need rules that are set by elected politicians in Germany.
In 2025, it was that time again: adults were allowed to vote for the Bundestag. But why are there elections? How does it work with votes and parties? And what distinguishes democratic decisions from others?
In this lecture, we want to find out together how elections work, what constitutes democracy and what elections are all about. And best of all, you can try out for yourself how difficult it is to make decisions together.
Stefanie Gerstenberger wanted to be a logo! presenter as a child.
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April 15, 2025 | 5:30 pm | Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden, Great Hall (Lingerplatz 1, 01069 Dresden)
The enigma of Nasca - How did the whale get into the desert?
Christiane Richter
President of the association "Dr. Maria Reiche - Linien und Figuren der Nasca-Kultur in Peru" e. V. and member of the Nasca research project at the HTW Dresden
Whale, monkey, hummingbird or algae - huge images of animals and plants cover the Nazca desert in distant Peru. Gigantic spirals, kilometer-long lines, triangles and trapezoids can also be found here. But you can only really see them all from the air. But who made these drawings and, above all, how and why? Can modern science solve the mystery?
We want to get to the bottom of these and many other questions in the lecture.
Christiane Richter was fascinated by the theater as a child and wanted to study acting or singing.
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April 29, 2025 | 5:30 pm | Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden, Great Hall (Lingerplatz 1, 01069 Dresden)
From the head to the feet: Why should we actually be rational?
Prof. Dr. Moritz Schulz
Chair of Theoretical Philosophy, TU Dresden
We've probably all heard it before: "Be reasonable for once!" But why is that? What's so good about making decisions with a cool head? And does that mean we have to avoid all the things that seem unreasonable but are so much fun? The lecture asks what reason actually is, presents answers from philosophy and considers whether we can still eat jelly babies until we have a stomach ache.
Moritz Schulz wanted to work in garbage collection as a child.
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May 13, 2025 | 5:30 p.m. | TUD Dresden University of Technology, Auditorium Center, Lecture Hall 03 (Bergstr. 64, 01069 Dresden)
Species conservation up close - How can we save the field hamster?
Thomas Liebenstein
Project manager for species conservation at Leipzig Zoo
Did you know that the European hamster is threatened with extinction in Saxony and throughout Germany? But don't worry, there's an exciting project to help it! Thomas Liebenstein, species conservation expert at Leipzig Zoo, introduces the project. He explains how the zoo is using breeding programs and reintroductions to ensure that the hamsters can return to the wild. In the lecture, you will find out why the European hamster is in danger and what we can do to help it. Join us and learn how each of us can protect nature!
Thomas Liebenstein wanted to be a vet as a child.