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Contributions for the Ruhr Science Forum Conference: Doing knowledge transfer differently?!

Real-world laboratories, pop-ups, performances, mobile and outreach services sought for the energy transition

Foto: powerofforever (gettyimages)

Contributions sought – Call for Contributions

A successful energy transition requires not only scientific knowledge, technical innovations, and favorable economic and political conditions, but also new social practices and aesthetics.

In addition to proven formats for knowledge transfer such as lectures and panels, new approaches to communication are therefore gaining in importance in the context of the energy transition. Formats such as performative installations, pop-ups, interventions, augmented reality experiments, or mobile, outreach consulting make connections tangible, invite joint knowledge production, and also attempt to appeal to those who have little contact with science or are critical of it.

The Wissenschaftsforum Ruhr conference on April 27, 2026, at the Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen aims to open up a space for reflection and experimentation with new formats for knowledge transfer in the energy transition and will discuss the following questions in particular:

• How can scientific, technical, and social content relating to the energy transition be communicated in such a way that it not only informs, but also enables direct participation, encourages people to get involved, and strengthens trust?
• Which experimental formats are suitable for structuring and visualizing energy knowledge or making the unknown tangible and malleable?
• Who are the target audiences for knowledge transfer and how can diverse target groups be reached?
• What role do urban society, civil society organizations, local politics, and local government play?
• What effects can be achieved? Can science transfer itself become a sounding board for evidence-based ideas for a sustainable and just energy future?

Foto: CSA Images (gettyimages)

We invite scientists, artists, communicators, and actors from the fields of research and transfer to present and discuss new ways of communication, participation, and transformation.

We are looking for contributions, experience reports, and scientific reflections that open up spaces of knowledge, make energy knowledge visible, audible, or tangible—and reimagine the relationship between research and society. We welcome submissions on topics such as:

• Participatory approaches and collaborative experiments (real-world laboratories)
• Experimental formats for science and transformation communication
• Energy communication as a social laboratory: spaces for experimentation and imagination
• Transparency and trust in the energy transition as a communicative challenge
• Media aesthetics and narratives of energy knowledge
• Creative, design-based, and interactive formats as a methodological extension of scientific communication, e.g., installations, performances, participatory formats
• Evaluation and reflection on innovative transfer formats

We are looking for scientific and application-oriented presentations, as well as hybrid artistic-practical works, posters, audiovisual formats, and performative contributions. The conference sees itself as a space for experimentation – contributions that transcend the traditional boundaries between research, communication, and art are expressly welcome.

Keynote speakers and discussion:

• Prof. Dr. Uwe Schneidewind
• Garrelt Duin (Regional Director of the Regionalverband Ruhr RVR)
• Prof. Dr. Görge Deerberg (Chairman of the Board of Wissenschaftsforum Ruhr e.V.)
• Prof. Dr. Stefan Gärtner (Director of the Institute for Work and Technology)

Submission of contributions:

Please send an abstract (approx. 200 words) to gs@wissenschaftsforum-ruhr.de by March 15, 2026.

You will be notified of acceptance by March 30, 2026.

Venue: Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen

Organizer: Wissenschaftsforum Ruhr

Date: April 27, 2026

Cost: Participation in the event is free of charge.

Travel expenses and, if applicable, transportation costs for artistic works or similar items may be reimbursed upon agreement.

Further Information

Event agenda

Website of Wissenschaftsforum Ruhr e.V.