Working on the future together.
The Future Lab format focuses on networking among partners of the Research Campus of Central Hessen because s a vibrant network between partners is a key prerequisite for successful collaborations. The FCMH Future Workshop also stands for joint work on innovations for our university alliance. The goal of this collaboration is to develop common solutions to challenges that are visionary for one's own field of work, one's own university, and for the entire Research Campus.
This year, science managers and administrators from JLU, UMR, and THM once again asked themselves this question at the Future Lab. While previous workshops focused on topics such as New Work and AI, this time the emphasis was on a new method.
After a brief introduction of the grant concept for the application for the title of "Excellent University" by UMR President Thomas Nauss, Klaudia Seibel, head of the "Future Life" section of the phantastischen Bibliothek Wetzlar, brought science-fiction thinking closer to the participants in an impromptu lecture. This approach focuses on imagining future scenarios and questioning fundamental assumptions. Klaudia Seibel emphasized that the future is never set in stone but is a space of possibilities that is the result of many small decisions.
Credit: Robin Schmieder
Credit: Robin Schmieder
During the subsequent group sessions, participants developed their own science fiction stories. Inspired by insights into the funding application concept and the fresh method, their narratives all centered on an excellent future for the Research Campus of Central Hessen. The science managers and administratorsquickly realized that every small detail could have implications for the entire imagined world and needed to be carefully considered. Finally, the groups presented their stories, including one where a heroine successfully published a groundbreaking idea in medical research despite major opposition, and another where the university alliance stood successfully against a political threat.
Credit: Stefan Lueder
The Future Lab 2024 provided participants with inspiration to further promote an innovation culture at their universities and actively shape the future of the FCMH. Networking and cross-institutional knowledge sharing remain essential pillars to strengthening collaborative partnerships, ensuring the future-readiness of the universities, and thereby competing for the best researchers and students.
On June 7, 2023, the FCMH Secretariat invited staff from science management and administration at the three networked universities to participate in the Future Lab at Schloss Rauischholzhausen. The theme for this event was "New Work – Impulse für die Hochschullandschaft" (Impulses for the Higher Education Landscape). Inspired by the keynote speech of renowned trend researcher Birgit Gebhardt on "Knowledge Work in Transition", attendees engaged in a lively exchange about how the interconnected, futuristic working world will fundamentally influence and reshape the higher education landscape. The overarching theme underscored the importance of adaptability, collaboration, and organizational culture to meet evolving demands in academia.
After two years of the pandemic that changed work processes and restricted personal networking opportunities, staff from the three universities met again on 13 June 2022 for a Future Lab. By then, the universities had grown through new projects and structures and gained many new colleagues, so the networking aspect moved to the forefront.
Together, key future topics of the alliance were discussed. Sustainability (in all three dimensions: economic, social, and ecological) and diversity were identified as cross-cutting themes. The exchange of best practices was established as a potential workshop component. At the themed group tables, numerous ideas and best practices were shared in the areas of digitization, offers for new target groups, and science communication and transfer.
On 24 October 2019, the first FCMH-Future Lab took place at Schloss Rauischholzhausen. The event aimed to network staff from the three central Hessian universities and develop ideas for advancing their collaborative work. Supported by the Stifterverband, 29 participants from administration and research management engaged in a World Café format to discuss topics such as process transparency, interfaces between research and administration, university and alliance identity, and cross-institutional job rotations. This led to valuable impulses for future cooperation, with additional themes flagged for upcoming workshops. From this event emerged the AG Kollegiale Beratung, a working group for peer consultation.
