"What does university culture mean (to us)?"

Monday, April 19, 2021, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

TU Dresden was the first university in Germany to create a dedicated Vice-Rectorate University Culture, emphasizing the pivotal importance of this topic for the university. But how do we define university culture? Based on this question, the fourth Future Lab will discuss the many facets of this topic: from the green and healthy, the participatory and diverse, to the cultural and responsible campus.

Program

Thematic groups

Thematic group 1 - Ecological sustainability

How do we develop TU Dresden into an ecologically sustainable institution?

TU Dresden as a civil actor assumes responsibility for the scientific reflection of transformation processes that are relevant to society as a whole and supports these processes by developing and implementing innovative approaches. With its certified environmental management, excellent research activities in the field of environmental and climate protection, and the recently established team for ecological sustainability, TU Dresden is addressing the institutional and societal challenges of climate change. For the implementation of effective climate and environmental protection on the campus, it is essential to anchor the topic throughout the university. Given our exemplary role, how can we integrate ecological sustainability into all of TU Dresden's areas of action and activity? What ideas do you have for a sustainability strategy to be developed? In this context, how important is personal commitment and how can it be promoted?

Moderators: Prof. Stefan Gumhold, Kristin Fiedler

Thematic group 2 - Sustainable mobility strategy

What path are we taking towards sustainable mobility on the campus and beyond?

Mobility is a central prerequisite for globally networked research and teaching, and at the same time is a central field of action for sustainable development. What is at stake is participation and the accessibility of relevant destinations for people and goods, for all individuals in all generations and regions. However, increasing mobility is placing an ever-greater burden on the environment. What forms of sustainable mobility already exist? TU Dresden's mobility vision is to create a highly accessible, lively, sustainable and innovative campus with a welcoming, exceptional atmosphere. We would like to present to you the nine goals associated with this vision and, on this basis, enable a lively discussion regarding measures and steps to achieve sustainable mobility.
What ideas do you have to make the mobility of different groups of individuals at TU Dresden more sustainable, on their way to and from the campus, on the campus itself, as well as for business trips? How can such a concept be implemented, which persons or groups should be involved, which methods would be needed for a successful implementation?

Moderators: Prof. Regine Gerike, Dr. Michael Krieg

Thematic group 3 - Diversity

How diverse do we want our university to be?

Diversity is essential for the creation of knowledge, innovation, and long-term excellence. For TU Dresden, strengthening diversity at all levels is both a mission and a clearly stated goal. In an increasingly complex working, research and study environment, it is crucial to create and secure equal opportunities and to utilize all potentials. TU Dresden's overarching Diversity Strategy 2030 promotes multidimensional perspectives and serves as a guideline for action. But where are we on this path of experienced diversity? How diverse are we today, where do we need to think ahead, and where do we need new impulses or structures? How diverse do we actually want our university to be?

Moderators: Prof. Anke Langner, Dr. Cornelia Hähne

Thematic group 4 - Participation

How participatory do we want our campus to be?

In a university-wide survey in 2019, TU Dresden staff reported that they would like to be more involved in fundamental, university-related issues than they have been in the past. The element of participation is inherent in the basic definition of the term "university", since it refers to the community of lecturers and students. The involvement of all status groups in decision-making processes is ensured both by law and by internal TU regulations. In addition, other non-formalized participation formats are organized for specific occasions or topics. But how is the situation in everyday university life? Do you know your opportunities for participation? Do you also have the necessary time to get involved in decision-making processes? How have you experienced the existing opportunities for participation and did you have the chance to contribute with your ideas? And how much responsibility are you willing to take for TU Dresden's continuing development?

Moderators: Marlene Odenbach, Dr. des. Robert Fischer

Thematic group 5 - Health promotion

Are you just working or are you also living?

We strive to create a working and studying environment at TU Dresden that contributes to unfolding the potential of our staff and students in all areas of activity as well as to their well-being. The promotion of health plays a prominent role in this context, as even in the university context we are frequently confronted with physical and mental stress. Moreover, the line between professional and private life is becoming increasingly blurred. Remote and digital working has become part of everyday life and entails new challenges for each and every one of us. Therefore, it is all the more important to focus on health as a whole, i.e., to not only include physical and mental stresses but also aspects that influence it, such as appreciative interaction with one another and a modern culture in which mistakes are dealt with constructively. Working and living should not be a contradiction.
What is your view on TU Dresden's health management system: What is going well, which offers do you find especially helpful? And what are you still missing, where can we improve? Should the university take more responsibility for the welfare of its members or is this their own responsibility?

Moderators: Prof. Andreas Seidler, Maxi Paulus, Jochen Richter

Thematic group 6 - Societal responsibility

How much societal responsibility do we want to assume as TU Dresden?

At universities, the imperative of moderation and political neutrality applies. At the same time, universities have a democratic educational mandate and assume societal responsibility. In recent times, socio-political changes, such as the COVID pandemic or the arrival of refugees in Dresden since 2016, have fostered a discourse culture that is no longer characterized by openness to the opinions of others. Rather, it is characterized by entrenchments and immovable fronts. Should we, as TU Dresden, get involved in societal debates? Should we, as members of TU Dresden, get involved in society? To what extent and in what ways can we do so?

Moderators: PD Dr. Julia Schulze-Wessel, Dr. Tino Schlinzig

Thematic group 7 - Art & culture at TUD

How important do we consider art and culture at a university of technology?

Historically, the connection between art and science is steeped in tradition. For TU Dresden's self-image as an educational institution, too, cultural aspects have always played an essential role. The campus architecture comes to mind here, as well as the art on the buildings, the historical teaching collections, the diverse exhibition activities, and the artistic ensembles. In societal discourses, art and culture are important mediators: they open up new spaces for thought and discussion, promote the ability to reflect, and encourage us to question the (seemingly) self-evident. Cultural institutions and projects can contribute to interdisciplinary networking within the institution and offer interfaces for fostering dialogue with the city's society and other stakeholders.
How can we use this potential to further develop our university into an interdisciplinary, integrative space of critical discourse? How can the artistic institutions and groups provide this transfer in the sense of university culture and a TUD universitas? Where do we see the potential of art and culture at a technical university, including in the exchange with teaching and research?

Moderators: Prof. Kerstin Schankweiler, Kirsten Vincenz

Thematic group 8 - TU Dresden as a Living Lab

What is actually meant by TU Dresden as a Living Lab?

If we want to meet the challenges of the future, including sustainable development, transformation and inclusion, we will need new societal routines. These local and global societal issues are increasingly being addressed in so-called Living Labs, i.e. in an experimental setting in which science and civil society work together in a transdisciplinary way and learn from each other. Open Future Labs and Citizen Science projects are emerging, and programs such as the new European Bauhaus are being launched to explore innovative avenues of research and find collaborative solutions to complex societal problems. Can we as a university develop such Living Labs in the Dresden city context? What formats are needed to respond to the needs of the city's society, to form sustainable networks and structures, and to jointly develop solutions for the challenges of the future?

Moderators: Prof. Melanie Humann, Marie Neumann

The Future Labs 2021 are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Free State of Saxony as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments.