Exhibitions, interactive activities, lectures, hands-on research projects and a knowledge rally for children: that’s what Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has in store at its Open Day on Campus East on Saturday, June 29, 2019. From 10 am to 7 pm visitors can delve into the fascinating world of science, and experience KIT’s research projects close-up. This year’s Open Day focuses on mobility.
“We at KIT are closely connected with the city of Karlsruhe, its people and social life. Therefore we are always very happy to open our doors and invite the citizens of Karlsruhe and anyone who is interested from near and far to take a look at the labs and look over the shoulders of our scientists. Research, teaching and innovation at KIT is meant to benefit society,” says the President of KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka. “The Open Day is all about mobility this year, but of course we will also present numerous other research fields and facilities of KIT – and the people behind them. We are very excited about showing all this to our visitors.”
At Campus East at Rintheimer Querallee many or KIT’s institutes are conducting research on mobility and transport. Researchers are developing interdisciplinary solutions for our future mobility. They are integrating means of transport for passengers and goods and carrying out research for seamless mobility. Around 800 employees at more than 35 institutes of KIT deal with lightweight construction, electric mobility, powerful batteries, renewable fuels for internal combustion engines, and autonomous driving where artificial intelligence and machine learning play a major role. The agenda also includes interactions in a man-vehicle-infrastructure and holistic transport concepts which incorporate many forms of mobility.
Campus East is situated in the immediate vicinity of the Baden-Württemberg Test Center for Autonomous Driving. In addition, institutes and competence centers of other KIT locations, such as Campus North and South, will present their offerings at the Open Day.
For more information on the Open Day at KIT please go to www.kit.edu/effekte2019
Start of EFFEKTE science festival
Traditionally the Open Day at KIT also marks the start of the EFFEKTE science festival. It will be opened on stage at 3 pm by the President of KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka, and the mayor of the city of Karlsruhe, Dr. Frank Mentrup. At the festival, which will run until Sunday July 7, numerous Karlsruhe research institutions and educational facilities throughout the city will be presenting hands-on science. www.effekte-karlsruhe.de
Unifest
Another event to take place on June 29 alongside the Open Day is Unifest, organized by the student body on Campus South at KIT. From 1 pm arts, sports and interactive activities and a theater program will be on the agenda on the culture stage. At 6 pm the stage program will kick off with numerous bands and DJs, and at 9 pm the peripheral event rooms will open their doors. The stage program will start as early as Friday, June 28, from 6 pm www.unifest-karlsruhe.de.
Open Day Program in short
The program for the Open Day can be downloaded at https://www.kit.edu/downloads/programmheft_tdot_2019.pdf. Here are some of the areas of focus:
Stage program: From 11 am the stage will offer a wide range of entertainment. The day will begin with a game show for children, with KIT students taking over at 12:30 pm playing brass music. Highlights include the performances of Austrian science cabaret artists “Science Busters” at 3:30 pm and TV comedian Bernhard Hoëcker at 6 pm.
Young researchers: This year, young visitors will once again have lots to look forward to, such as programming robots with Lego Mindstorms, experiments with the KIT school labs and the popular knowledge rally with numerous stops on Campus East.
Hands-on research: Visitors can experience the world of science through numerous demonstrations and experiments. For example, machinery is put through its paces on the chassis dynamometer of the Institute of Vehicle System Technology, and at the booth of the Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology the benefits of synthetic fuels are demonstrated in a live experiment.
Presentations: In the presentation tent and the rooms of the institute in building 70.04, lectures on current research topics from KIT will run throughout the day. These include automated driving of trains, self-localization of autonomous vehicles and air pollution in Africa by exhaust gases and Sahara dust.
KIT centers: Eight KIT centers combine the central interdisciplinary research activities at KIT. They all deal with questions which are of fundamental importance for the existence and further development of society. At the Open Day they will present their research in the fields of energy, materials, information, mobility, mathematics, man and technology, climate and the environment, as well as elementary particle and astroparticle physics.
Life on campus: In addition to the research institutes, numerous college groups and institutions such as the Akaflieg paragliding group and the Center for Cultural and General Studies at KIT will present their offerings.
Limited parking – shuttle running
The Open Day will take place on Campus East at Rintheimer Querallee 2, 76131 Karlsruhe. Due to large crowds and limited parking, we recommend using public transport: by train heading out of the city with the S2 or by tram 4 or 6 to Hirtenweg/Technologiepark. From there it’s a ten minutes’ walk to Campus East. The way from the station is signposted. From Birkenparkplatz and Waldparkplatz at Adenauerring and from Campus South there is a free shuttle bus which runs between 9:30 am and 7:30 pm every 15 minutes.
For full and up-to-date information on the Open Day at KIT please go to www.kit.edu/effekte2019
More about the KIT Mobility Systems Center: www.mobilitaetssysteme.kit.edu
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.