Social Innovation Program

Experience social innovation at the TU Braunschweig!

The Social Innovation Program is an offer for all students of the TU Braunschweig, where theoretical knowledge can be experienced directly in practice.
As part of Social Innovation in Dialogue, the content of the courses is combined with the practical knowledge of practice partners.
There is also the opportunity to take part in workshops and lectures in which initiatives and associations that are committed to social innovation are presented. This gives students the opportunity to learn important future skills and develop ideas for their own projects.

The aim of the program is to get to know the practical aspects of studies and research and to reflect on these with regard to social, economic and ecological sustainability.

Current event

We are currently working on the new Social Innovation Program for the summer semester 2025. We look forward to further cooperation!

Past events

Thursday, November 28, 202415:00 - 17:30

Location: Online

What impact do you want to achieve in your future areas of work or with your research? In this workshop, we will look at the Golden Circle and the WHY behind your work. With the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in mind, you will reflect on the potential impact areas that you can achieve with your own research or your work.

Wednesday, November 27, 2024
8:00 - 9:30

Location: SN 19.2

Lecture: Prevention and rehabilitation, Prof. Beate Muschalla

Guests: Irina Shiyanov (VRalive) and Yijun Li

Virtual reality has long outgrown gaming and is increasingly conquering other areas of life. The use of VR in health research is particularly exciting, where innovative approaches are being developed to improve people's well-being and quality of life. In our event, we will take you on a journey through the research project “VRalive - More activity and better participation of older people in need of care through virtual reality”. We will shed light on the history of the project, share exciting research results and show how VR helps to make people in need of care more active and socially integrated. Finally, we take a look at the future: how these findings can be commercialized to make them accessible to even more people.

Monday, October 28, 2024
11:30 - 13:00

Location: Lecture hall BI 97.8 at the North Campus

Seminar: Social inequality in the life course: Education, training, studies, career entry, advancement, Prof. Okka Zimmermann

The kick-off event for the Social Innovation Program will take place on October 28, 2024, 11:30 - 13:00 in room BI 97.8 at Campus North. The first part of the event will feature a report on the exciting FipHo project. First-generation students face particular challenges in accessing higher education and in their studies, which affect their educational opportunities. The research project is investigating how these students can be better supported. Look forward to the first results!

In the second part of the event, RockYourLife! will provide insights into their area of involvement. ROCK YOUR LIFE! is a non-profit organization that focuses on the personal and professional development of young people. Its aim is to help teenagers and young adults to recognize and develop their individual strengths and potential.

Location: Sandkasten-Zentrale/4LAB in the Altgebäude

This workshop focuses on developing creative solutions to social challenges using proven project management tools. Participants will learn how social innovations are defined and what relevance they have in today's world.

The use of the project canvas makes it possible to systematically structure ideas and plan concrete measures. In addition, creativity techniques such as SCAMPER are introduced to promote innovative solutions and further develop existing concepts. Through the exchange and presentation of results, not only the understanding of project management is strengthened, but also the ability to actively contribute to the design of effective solutions.

Workshop leader: Dr. Isabel Rössler (Senior Project Manager, Expert for Social Innovations from Universities, CHE Centre for Higher Education Development)

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Location: Sandkasten-Zentrale/4LAB in the Altgebäude

Speaker: Larisa Tsvetkova, Network Immovielien

Cities are characterized by commercial developments that want to dictate “market laws” to us. But do we have to design our meeting places, forms of living, working and cultural spaces according to what is considered profitable and what is not?

Immovielien - real estate by the many for the many - show that things can be done differently: they are developed in a collaborative process and from an attitude oriented towards the common good. The implementation of Immovielien is made possible by co-productive planning processes, joint legal forms and solidarity-based financing structures. Immovielien are supported by actors and institutions that operate their buildings non-speculatively and aim to permanently remove the land from speculation. They thus provide impetus for ecological and social transformation and at the same time strengthen local democracy and participation. This lecture invites you to reflect on the community as a city maker using the example of Immovielien and to exchange ideas about social innovation in the city.

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