© Paulsberg

In the year 2028, TU Dresden will celebrate its 200^th birthday. Since its foundation as a "Technical School", a lot has changed. TU Dresden, the standards in research and teaching, its framework conditions and the expectations placed on it have transformed fundamentally. This transformation process is continuing and can be shaped by all members of TU Dresden. In the Future Labs, which took place in the spring of 2018, the central aspects of the overall strategy of TU Dresden have been discussed and a common vision for the future of our university - up until 2028 - have been devised.

► Future Labs 2018 in detail

2018 Future Labs Impressions

What are Future Labs?

Future Labs are forums for gathering and discussing ideas and points of view, regardless of status.

The first Future Lab on the topic of "Teaching" took place in the School of Science under the motto "Creating Cultural Change" in November 2015.This Future Lab has generated a variety of impulses for the optimisation of teaching and its framework conditions, which have been and will be taken up in different contexts (e.g. in the current Excellence Strategy).

As part of the preparation of the full proposal for the status of University of Excellence, six further topic-related Future Labs were held at TU Dresden in order to reflect on central aspects of the overall strategy and to discuss specific ideas.

Why Future Labs?

© Robert Lohse

Strategy development processes based on complex analyses, as encouraged by the University Executive Board and discussed and further developed in various committees, form the foundation of the overall university strategy.

At the same time, it is important for a successful strategy development and implementation to discuss these assessments within the university as a whole, validate them, and enrich them with the experience of all staff and students.

This is particularly important for the Excellence Strategy that encompasses the entire university. The University Executive Board wanted to include the diverse perspectives and experiences of TU Dresden’s members with the help of the Future Labs in the preparation of the full proposal. The Future Labs offered the opportunity to devise how we will study, research, teach and work at TU Dresden in the future.

Who could participate in the Future Labs?

All members of TU Dresden as well as members of DRESDEN-conceptwere invited to participate in the Future Labs. External parties were not allowed to participate.

How does a Future Lab work?

For each Future Lab, a detailed programme caould be found on the website of the Excellence Strategy, usually four weeks prior to the respective event. The order of events within the individual Future Labs for the Excellence Strategy varied in some respects due to the different topics.

© Robert Lohse

All future labs shared the large group discussion method "World Café". This means that there were up to seven thematic groups in each Future Lab, within which the subtopics were discussed in a relaxed "coffee house atmosphere". The participants were, depending on their interests, allocated to the various thematic groups. The discussions were led by moderators. After about 40 minutes, the participants switched to a new thematic group.

Usually, a Future Lab consisted of three "World Café" discussion rounds. At the end of each Future Lab, the results were summarised and evaluated.

Why did we film and take photos during the Future Labs?

Video recordings and photos were primarily made for the purposes of documentation in the context of the ongoing application for the Excellence Strategy. Where appropriate, photos of display walls and group discussions or short video sequences will be used to give the reviewers an impression of how central topics of the TU Dresden proposal have been developed.

The video recordings are limited to the opening of a Future Lab, to capturing the atmosphere of discussion from a distance and to the summary at the end.

It should be emphasised that, of course, no sound recordings have been made of participants taking part in the discussions. The open, trust-based nature of the discussions, which is essential for the success of a Future Lab, will be respected.

What happens after the Future Labs?

The key facts, reflections, ideas, etc. were recorded in minutes during the individual discussion rounds. Following the events, these notes were complimented by additional research and evaluations (e.g. with reference to case studies at other universities). Recommendations for action were prepared by each individual Future Lab, which have been discussed in the University Executive Board meetings as well as in the other units and committees involved in the application process.

The Future Labs 2018 were funded by TU Dresden's Institutional Strategy iin the framework of the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal and State Governments.