Jul 01, 2026
Johanna Haupt wins the Science Slam at the Dresden Science Night
Johanna Haupt, communications manager at the Mercator Forum on Migration and Democracy (MIDEM) in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at TUD, is the winner of the Science Slam at the Dresden Science Night on June 26, 2026. Under the title “A Little Hate for in Between: How to Build a Günther,” she demonstrated how sociopolitical polarization arises, how it can be measured and studied—but above all, how it can be counteracted. The captivating presentation was a call to keep the dialogue going and not to give up on one’s counterpart despite differing positions. Or, to put it in the words of the evening’s moderator, Simon Hauser, to always hope that the only exclamation heard during a night out at the pub is “Petri Heil.”
All five female researchers presented their work on this midsummer evening in an entertaining and vivid manner, impressively demonstrating how to inspire a broad audience with science.
The slammers:
Alavy Kifait Reza, doctoral student at (United Nations University Institute / Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development / TUD)
Presentation: “To consume, or be consumed?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alavy-kifait-r-51763229/
Dr. Theresia Gutmann, postdoc (European Molecular Biology Laboratory & Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics)
Presentation: “Mission invisible: Viral tricks against the immune system”
https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresia-gutmann/
Johanna Haupt, M.A., Communications Manager , (Mercator Forum on Migration and Democracy, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, TUD)
Lecture: “A Little Hate for in Between. How to Build a Günther”
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanna-haupt-0389b594/
Jana Skrobanek, doctoral student , (Faculty of Biology, TUD)
Presentation: “Humanity on Trial: Horses and the Path to Justice”
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jana-skrobanek-3a19873b1/
Dr. Lidia Stocker – Postdoc (Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems)
Presentation: “The Physics of Big Parties”