Do you know how research works?

In January 2019, during the New Year’s reception hosted by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), the Chamber of Crafts (HWK), and the Zittau University of Applied Sciences (HSZG), short interview clips were shown in which several residents of Zittau were given the opportunity to share brief comments about the university. While some people were very good at keeping information up to date, others openly admitted that they didn’t know much about the university.

That’s why the HSZG’s collaboration with the local Dreiländereck Adult Education Center (VHS) on the Saxony⁵ project comes at just the right time! This should make it possible to reach new, potentially interested segments of the population and get them excited about the university’s many fantastic research projects.

Together with Matthias Weber and Rene Seidel from the VHS, the idea was conceived to invite citizens to the university as part of a free course — funded by project grants. In an almost private setting limited to ten participants — with light refreshments to enjoy while chatting afterward—researchers will be able to explain in an accessible way what they do day to day and how science actually works. This allows for an open discussion about how research results are arrived at, far removed from the comment sections on social media, and helps foster greater mutual understanding. Ultimately, the goal is to increase everyone’s willingness to engage with research.

Over the course of two morning and two evening sessions, we showed our guests the Zittau Power Plant Laboratory and the LaNDER³ Hall. The audience—which was, in some cases, truly diverse, representing all walks of life (former graduates, former power plant employees, interested metalworkers, teachers, technicians, retirees, children, and more)—found the opportunity to learn about the university’s research to be very good. We will therefore be offering the event again this year.

The next dates for “Citizens Meet Science” are:

The express purpose of these events is to welcome members of the public who are interested in the university but might otherwise feel hesitant to visit the HSZG. So if you work at the university or are a frequent visitor here, please feel free to recommend these events to relatives or acquaintances who aren’t yet very good at knowing the university and its research.

We’d like to take this opportunity to extend a special thank you to the researchers who embraced this format and, in doing so, presented their research in a way that brought it to life.

Text: Martin Kunack, Kristin Sprechert