An Open Day event with thousands of visitors? Unfortunately, this is no option in pandemic times. Within the framework of the EFFEKTE Science Festival, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will therefore provide interested persons of any age with exciting insights into the world of research, teaching, and innovation. In a varied online program, seven questions will be covered in seven formats on seven days between June 12 and 18. The “KIT21” online offerings, which are bundled on a web portal, will be supplemented by selected hybrid events. This will include a panel discussion on climate protection in front of the “Triangel Open Space” venue at Kronenplatz to kick off the event on June 12.
“We are delighted to bring KIT closer to all interested citizens in a compact and entertaining way for an entire week,” says Professor Holger Hanselka, President of KIT. “In a situation where big public events are no option, our digital and hybrid knowledge and information offerings still make it possible to experience the diversity and dynamism provided by The Research University in the Helmholtz Association – at the same time, they are proof of the seriousness with which we meet global challenges.”
EFFEKTE Science Festival
On the EFFEKTE stage at Kronenplatz, Lord Mayor Dr. Frank Mentrup, the President of KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka, and other representatives of the Karlsruhe universities and scientific institutions will open the Karlsruhe Science Festival at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 12. Due to the pandemic, this year's EFFEKTE program will include numerous digital offerings, but also events and activities at central locations in the city center.
First-Hand Knowledge – Delivered Digitally Straight to Your Home
On each of the seven KIT21 days, a key question and a featured format will be in the focus of this program that has been organized by KIT event management. Whether playfully in a digital escape room (“How to make math fun?”) or succinctly in a streamed lunch lecture (“Will we soon achieve the energy turnaround?”), whether discussion-oriented in a clubhouse round table (“How will robotics change our lives?”) or during a semi-autonomous test drive (“No need for a driver's license in the future?”) – the manifold and entertaining topics developed in cooperation with the eight KIT centers are characterized by their social relevance and, at the same time, illustrate the strategic research fields of KIT.
Hybrid Events on the Open-Air Stage
After registration on the KIT21 portal, two formats of the “7 Days” can be watched – not only in the Internet stream, but also on site: on June 12 at 3 p.m., the “Klimatalk KARLA” panel on the EFFEKTE stage in front of the “Triangel Open Space” venue at Kronenplatz will try to find out how Karlsruhe can become climate-neutral. Invitees include stakeholders of KARLA (Karlsruhe real-world lab for sustainable climate protection), which is operated by KIT and the City of Karlsruhe. On June 16 – at the same location, from 5 p.m. – competition will set in: in the “Falling Walls Lab Karlsruhe”, students, young scientists, and young entrepreneurs will try and win over a jury as well as the audience with their ideas in three minutes.
Join-in Activities for Young and Old
In addition, KIT21 offers numerous digital join-in activities for young and old, in which the daily key question will be broadened and the participants will be encouraged to become active themselves. Playschool groups, school classes, and individuals of any age can register for the workshops. On Friday, June 18, even the featured format of the day is a join-in activity: in a “Student Science Café,” students will explore the materials that will shape our lives in the future.
Campus Challenge
Another hybrid game and knowledge offering that accompanies the seven days is the “Campus Challenge”: against the background of a fictitious blackout scenario, the players go on an app-assisted rally across the South Campus of KIT in order to reactivate different power sources by solving tasks.
Portal KIT21: www.kit.edu/kit21
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.