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

Frühlingsakademie Nachhaltigkeit
Spring Academy Sustainability

The Spring Academy Sustainability from 27th – 30th March 2023 will revolve around the question "What is sustainable agriculture?". The project days include workshops, excursions, forum, panel discussion and keynote speech. Registration is now open.

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KIT in the City Hall
KIT in the City Hall

On Monday 30 January 2023 at 6:30 p.m. the KIT Centre Information · Systems · Technologies  (KCIST) presents its research on the topic „The age of data and artificial intelligence“ in Karlsruhe’s city hall.

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Guest professorship at ZAKUniversität Basel
Guest professorship at ZAK

Vital impulses for research: for the winter term 2022/23 ZAK has advertised the guest professorship „research and society“. Work sociologist Dr. Simon Schaupp has taken up the first guest professorship at ZAK on 1 October 2022. Welcome!

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Teaser
Colloquium Fundamentale

In the Colloquium Fundamentale of the winter semester 2022/23, experts will discuss the topic "Global Climate Policy in a Fragile World Order".

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Teaser freepik
Timeline

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

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ZAK Torte ZAK
About us

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

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