Our activities for KIT Science Week 2025

This year's KIT Science Week is all about the "City of the Future". How do we want to live tomorrow? What does Karlsruhe need to remain liveable in the future? How can we shape change? Come to our workshops, exhibitions or take part in a walk - we look forward to exchanging ideas with you!

The Karlsruhe Transformation Center for Sustainability and Cultural Change (KAT) and its real-world laboratory "Quartier Zukunft - Labor Stadt" are helping to shape the KIT Science Week at various locations throughout the city. We are offering the following public events. Please note that some events can only be attended with prior registration. Admission to all events is free.

Tuesday, 14.10.2025

Future Walk - A history of tomorrow

• 10:00-17:00
• Location: Start at the Zukunftsraum, Rintheimer Straße 46, 76131 Karlsruhe
• More information and registration

The cooperating global community on planet Earth has got its act together - global warming is limited to 1.65°C. Biodiversity is regenerating in diverse urban ecosystems, clean air, fresh water and nourishing soils characterize cities worth living in. Children play in the streets, diversity is colorful and neighborhood and solidarity are consumed. Learning transformation skills has created the future and empowered people to work towards shaping a sustainable world. Would you like to know more about this world? Become a part of it, be creative and help shape it yourself? Then travel with us to the year 2045. Registration required.

Handprint workshop: Active together in climate protection

• 17:00-18:30
• Location: Zukunftsraum, Rintheimer Straße 46, 76131 Karlsruhe
• More information and registration

The workshop provides an up-to-date insight into climate research and emphasizes the need for a transformation towards a climate-friendly society. The concept of the handprint will be presented as a central element. Its aim is to anchor climate protection in a permanent structural way through targeted commitment so that sustainable living becomes easier for everyone. With the help of an action poster, participants will work in groups to develop their own approaches for commitment: an invitation to take an active role in promoting climate protection in Karlsruhe and beyond. Registration required.

KarlsRUHE - A walk to experience the city and silence

• 17:00-19:00
• Location: Start at Zukunftsraum, Rintheimer Straße 46, 76131 Karlsruhe / End: Audimax KIT (opening of the Science Week)
• More info and registration

A somewhat different walk through Karlsruhe invites you to experience the city with all your senses, to pause for a moment and to explore inner and outer places of silence. How do I move through the city, how do I perceive this place? How can I create places of peace inside and outside? Following on from the founding myth of Karlsruhe, we would like to explore aspects of mindfulness and deceleration for a liveable city of the future together. Our own experiences and the shared exchange of ideas are intended to open up personal scope for design and provide pointers for urban design. Please register for the event.

Wednesday, 15.10.2025

Tell us, ITAS - How does climate protection work with a handprint?

• 12:00-14:00
• Location: MobiLab at Friedrichsplatz, Erbprinzenstraße, 76133 Karlsruhe
• More information

This edition of the research talk "Tell me, ITAS" ties in with current climate research and emphasizes the need for a transformation towards a climate-friendly society. The concept of the handprint is presented as a central element. Its aim is to anchor climate protection in a permanent structural way through targeted commitment so that sustainable living becomes easier for everyone. The handprint invites people to take an active role in the transformation.

Thursday, 16.10.2025

Energy transition in Karlsruhe - Can it be achieved?

• 14:00-18:00
• Location: Zukunftsraum, Rintheimer Straße 46, 76131 Karlsruhe
• More information

In order to reduce the coming dangers of the climate crisis, a restructuring of the energy supply is necessary. An important question is whether a city like Karlsruhe can make such a change at all. At the event, facts will be presented on individual topics, which will then be discussed with those present. Topics include security of supply, affordability, climate effectiveness and others. Each hour is dedicated to a different sub-topic. At the end, an attempt is made to create an overall picture from the partial results.

Food for Thought - An after-work talk on sustainable nutrition

• 16:30-18:30
• Location: Karl9 - Science Center for Technology and Society, Karlstraße 9, 76133 Karlsruhe
• More info and registration

We invite you to the After Work Talk & Apero on sustainable nutrition! Enjoy snacks and exciting input on ecological and social aspects of our food choices in a relaxed atmosphere. In the interactive workshop we will discuss how conscious nutrition can shape urban space. KIT researchers will provide insights from current projects such as the Innovation Campus Sustainability - practical, understandable and from the heart of research. Exchange ideas, discover new perspectives and develop ideas for a more sustainable food culture with us! Registration required.

Saturday, 18.10.2025

Science Week highlight event: Citizens' Dialogue - Global turbulence, local shaping: Your ideas for Karlsruhe 2055

• 14:00-18:00
• Location: TRIANGEL Transfer | Culture | Space, Kaiserstraße 93, 76133 Karlsruhe
• More information and registration

The world is changing and Karlsruhe is changing with it. Heat waves, social issues, new technologies: How should Karlsruhe and the neighboring region make themselves fit for the future? In this dialog event, your ideas meet science. You will get into conversation with other citizens at themed tables. You can get involved with short inputs and creative participation formats and discuss key future issues together with KIT researchers. The big main event on October 18 will bring together what was previously discussed at various locations in Karlsruhe. This is where the perspectives from the accompanying events listed below come together. Participation in the previous events is not necessary. Anyone who is curious and would like to contribute their view of the city of tomorrow is welcome.

Accompanying dialog events:

The three accompanying events offer the opportunity to take a closer look at individual topics. The results will be incorporated into the main event on 18.10.2025. The events can be attended individually.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Experimenting for a good life: Open day in the "Quartier Zukunft" living lab

• 14:00-18:00
• Location: Zukunftsraum, Rintheimer Straße 46, 76131 Karlsruhe
• More information

What does a real-world laboratory do? Whether it's the climate crisis, traffic jams that stretch for miles through our city centers or the isolation of people - we have major tasks ahead of us for our future. In our real-world laboratory, we conduct research together with citizens to find out what a good life for all people can look like today and in the future and how we can achieve this. For example, we install solar panels on balconies, lend out cargo bikes and sometimes redesign parking spaces as open-air living rooms. We invite you to our real laboratory "Quartier Zukunft - Labor Stadt" and give you an insight into our work.

From Tuesday to Saturday

Urban nature of the future: exploring change in the mobile participation lab

• all day, program
• Location: MobiLab at Friedrichsplatz, Erbprinzenstraße, 76133 Karlsruhe

At the "mobile participation laboratory", MobiLab for short, we offer a variety of opportunities to think about the urban nature of the future: What ecosystems do what for our urban life? How can we deal with the heat in cities? What is the role of animals in the city? In addition to information and advice, there will also be plenty of opportunities to get involved: For example, finding and identifying insects - in a competition with a robot! Explore Friedrichsplatz from the perspective of non-human creatures! Develop ideas for the redesign of Friedrichsplatz and share them with others! Join us in a discussion about what "urban nature" could look like in the future.

Conference for professionals "Urban Transformation - Connecting Urban Sustainability Labs"

The international conference from October 15 to 17, 2025 offers real-world laboratories worldwide the opportunity to present themselves and their research approaches, to network and to learn from each other. KAT is significantly involved in the conception and implementation of the conference. The conference builds on the concept of transformative teaching and research, as formulated by the WBGU in 2011 in its call for a "Great Transformation" - a change in the economy, society and culture towards greater sustainability. From basic research to real-world laboratories and knowledge transfer, the diverse spectrum of scientific methods offers a robust set of tools for tackling the pressing challenges of urban transformation. The event brings together a global network of participants - scientists, policy makers, decision makers, urban practitioners and engaged citizens - to foster exchange, collaboration and learning. More info

Find out more about the Science Week program

Further information on the individual events can be found on the KIT Science Week website, in the event flyer and in our event calendar.