Welcome to ZAK!

Our core topic is the exchange between science and society in teaching, public events and research. The teaching and research of a university of excellence such as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) potentially contributes to overcoming major social and global challenges. For this to succeed, it is important that science and society are in dialogue. As central scientific unit at KIT, we contribute to the following activities:

  • In teaching, students acquire interdisciplinary knowledge, key competences and knowledge outside their own subject boundaries. The General Studies as well as in-depth study programmes provide orientation for one’s studies and society. Our teaching prepares students for successful action in their later professional life at the interfaces between science, economy, politics and the public.

  • In events for the public, we take up socially relevant debates on the environment, technology and science and reflect on the consequences of scientific action. We also ask how the exchange between science and society can succeed and how it should be shaped in liberal democracies.

  • In our research, we deal with the dynamics of public debates on science, technology and sustainability based on social science research methods.

News

Hand raised in crowdHero Design/stock.adobe.com
What is freedom?

In the context of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's Year of Science, experts from various disciplines will discuss the multifaceted concept of freedom at the Colloquium Fundamentale in the 2024 summer semester.

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Practices of moralisation

Moralisation practices in science communication (MoWiKo) are being investigated in an interdisciplinary project funded by the BMBF with the participation of researchers at ZAK. The aim is to analyse moralisation in public debates, the emergence of moral convictions and their effects on the ability to compromise on social problems.

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Spring Academy SustainabilityVladislava/stock.adobe.com
Spring Academy Sustainability

The Spring Academy Sustainability from 18th – 21st March 2023 revolves around the question "What is sustainable mobility?". The project week includes workshops, excursions, a forum, panel discussion and keynote speech.

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KIT in the City Hall
KIT in the City Hall

On 29 January 2024 the KIT Centre Health Technologies presented its research on the topic “Health of the future – Society and medical technology in transition” in Karlsruhe’s city hall.

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Timeline

You can find an overview of past activities in our timeline.

 
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About us

ZAK is a central academic unit at KIT based on three pillars: research, studies and public science.

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