Around 50 researchers from Bochum’s universities and employees from the Bochumer Stadtkonzern gathered in the “WerkRaum” at GLS Bank on May 27, 2024. They will meet again and again until the end of the year to discuss cooperation between science and the municipality. The event on Monday afternoon marked the start of the certificate program „Wissen gemeinsam gestalten“, which is offered by the RUB Research School and us, UniverCity Bochum.
“The great response makes it clear: Bochum is a place where knowledge is shared and further developed for the benefit of the city’s society,” says Ulf Dannehl, Head of the Mayor’s Department for Urban Affairs of the City of Bochum. He is convinced: “The new certificate program creates exemplary new, joint design skills for the challenges of our time.”
The fact that innovative approaches to cross-sector collaboration are in demand in all specialist areas is reflected in the diverse mix of the group. Around half of the group is made up of academics from all of Bochum’s universities and half of representatives from the city, including employees from the fire department, school administration and the electoral office. On the university side, the spectrum ranges from geographers to doctors and social scientists, to name just a few examples.
“It is very clear that a lot of knowledge exists and is being developed on both sides, which could be used by the other side…
Unfortunately, however, there is a lack of contacts that go beyond individual personal efforts,” regrets Laura Alberding from the Lower Nature Conservation Authority and at the same time hopes “that structures will be created above all that will enable better cooperation and an exchange of information with each other.“
Fabienne Peddinghaus from the Hochschule Bochum has had similar experiences: “Time and again, it becomes clear how much we are in our own ‘bubble’ of science. However, I personally believe that no matter what great achievements we make in research, ultimately they have to be applied in practice.”
“In a time of multiple crises and over-complexity, transformative research in cooperation between science and the community is indispensable for shaping a sustainable future. This cooperation is particularly demanding in the field of research and requires transparent expectation management,” says Prof. Dr. Uta Hohn. “The new certificate program for future makers from science and municipalities will raise awareness of both the potential and the challenges of cooperative knowledge generation and application and thus make an important contribution to the development of joint system, target and transformation knowledge.”
Overcoming sector boundaries
Methods of open innovation and co-production of knowledge can help to overcome sector boundaries in everyday working life – and in the mind. The program offers basic and advanced modules to help participants acquire the relevant professional skills. The workshops are supplemented by an exchange of experts on projects between science and local authorities.
A panel discussion during the launch event provided an initial insight into such projects and the challenges they face. In addition to Ulf Dannehl, Prof. Dr. Dr. Sigrid Graumann (Rector of the Evangelischen Hochschule Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe), Dr. Cordula Kloppe (Head of the Health Department of the City of Bochum) and Prof. Dr. Uta Hohn, (Chair of International Urban and Metropolitan Development at the Institute of Geography at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum) described their personal experiences.
The “Future Makers” will meet four more times this year before the program ends with a closing event at the end of November. By then, they will not only have acquired a certificate, but also established a new network in which they may already have concrete ideas that they can implement together.
