Press Release 090/2021

Colloquium Fundamentale: Science in Politics

This Winter Semester, the Lecture Series at KIT Focuses on the Complex Relationship between Science and Politics
In areas like future mobility and climate change, science may provide input in politics. This winter semester, the Colloquium Fundamentale will focus on “Science in Politics.” (Photo: Amadeus Bramsiepe, KIT)
In areas like future mobility and climate change, science may provide input in politics. This winter semester, the Colloquium Fundamentale will focus on “Science in Politics.” (Photo: Amadeus Bramsiepe, KIT)

“Hört auf die Wissenschaft” (listen to science) is a popular demand to politics. But how can scientific findings be translated successfully into political acting? This question will be in the focus of the Colloquium Fundamentale “Science in Politics. On the Potentials and Problems of a Complex Relationship.” The lecture series of ZAK I Centre for Applied and General Studies of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will be opened by Professor Senja Post, new Scientific Director of ZAK, on Thursday, October 28, 2021, 18.00 hrs, live on ZAK’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.de/ZAKVideoclips

Science is an important resource of modern society: Scientists identify problems, such as the spreading of viruses, malnutrition, or climate change, and develop ways to cope with them by vaccinations, new breeding technologies, or CO2-free drive trains. However, societies can use this resource only, if politics uses the scientific findings to make reasonable decisions. How well does that work and how can that be improved?

Discussion on the Relationship of Science and Politics 

At the Colloquium Fundamentale, experts of various disciplines will discuss the relationship of science and politics. “The challenge already starts with the question of the extent to which science and politics are compatible,” says Professor Senja Post, Scientific Director of the series. “Politicians are not the executive power of science. During the Colloquium Fundamentale we want to discuss target conflicts, scientific advising of politics, and the role of media.” In her introductory lecture, Post will speak about contributions by the media and researchers to the politicization of science in public debates on the environment and technology. She will highlight the relationship between public, science, and politics, which will then be deepened in the course of the lecture series.

For the program and information on the Colloquium Fundamentale, click www.zak.kit.edu/colloquium_fundamentale.

The lectures will be held in German and transmitted online via ZAK’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.de/ZAKVideoclips

Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.

am, 19.10.2021
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Margarete Lehné
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Phone: +49 721 608-41105
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Anna Moosmüller
ZAK | Zentrum für Angewandte Kulturwissenschaft und Studium Generale
Phone: +49 721 608-48027
Fax: +49 0721 608-44811
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