MobiLab
The "MobiLab" was created in 2021 as a mobile participation lab in the form of a tiny house through a cooperation of the research group "Karlsruhe Transformation Center for Sustainability and Cultural Change" at ITAS and the KIT-Center Humans and Technology. It represents a platform for the exchange of science and society and can be used for various forms of participatory research, citizen science, science communication as well as for participation and dialogue with society. The MobiLab is a novelty. Both the concept and the realization as a multifunctional tiny house produced in a sustainable way are unique.
Thanks to flexible equipment, state-of-the-art IT and optional furnishing of the surrounding outdoor space, experiments and many other formats of transdisciplinary and transformative research as well as bidirectional knowledge transfer can be conducted 'on site' with the MobiLab. Modern IT also helps to adequately illustrate the often technical and complex topics - such as autonomous driving, geothermal energy or climate change - e.g. via simulations.
From July 01-07, 2023, the MobiLab was the focus of the research stay "Gemeinsam Stadt_Machen: Am Werderplatz". In the middle of Karlsruhe's Südstadt district on Werderplatz, it attracted numerous citizens to participate in the research methods of students from the Institute of Regional Science (IfR) and the Institute of Geography and Geoecology (IfGG). The MobiLab acted as a meeting point and research infrastructure. It was used as part of the teaching and research project "Gemeinsam Stadt_Machen: An interactive CitizenLab with Karlsruhe's Südstadt".
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As part of Science Week, MobiLab offered an exciting programme on Kronenplatz that attracted many visitors. We presented various activities from KIT on topics such as "Networked Thinking", the energy supply of the future, the "Gemeinsam Stadt_Machen" project from the Institute of Regional Science and research into plant-based nutrition (Max Rubner Institute). Projects from Strasbourg were also presented, on health history and AI as well as a landing game; a cooperation game on climate change in the Upper Rhine region. Eucor was also on site with numerous information and counselling services. The general public was given the opportunity to get to know the MobiLab and there was a photographic review of the previous stations of the Eucor-MobiLab Roadshow. Thanks to everyone who took part!
MobiLab visited France for the first time as part of the Eucor-MobiLab Roadshow. From 6 to 8 October, German and French-language research projects were presented at the "Jardin des Sciences" science festival in Strasbourg. There was a lively exchange with the interested public. Thanks to our French partners at the University of Strasbourg!
The roadshow in the Franco-German metropolitan region: On 20 and 21 September, the city of Kehl welcomed us to the market square! Among other things, the programme focused on the topics of the energy and heat transition in the region and Kehl's climate neutrality. The Ortenau Energy Agency and BadenovaNetze offered practical hands-on activities and advice for citizens. The next stop in the German-French border region is Strasbourg from 6 to 8 October.
The second stop of the Eucor MobiLab Roadshow took place in Basel from 15-18 September 2013. In addition to information events, there were many interactive and interdisciplinary hands-on activities focussing on current topics such as climate change, health and nutrition. In addition to the organisers MuT, KAT/ITAS and Eucor, participating institutions included the City of Basel, SwissTPH, the University of Basel, the University of Strasbourg, the Basel Nutrition Forum and the Science Pillar (TMO). We would like to thank the University of Basel for its hospitality and look forward to the next stop in Kehl on 20 and 21 September 2023.
The MobiLab is based on the experience of the "Quartier Zukunft - Labor Stadt" (QZ) real laboratory, which has been implementing and researching contributions to sustainable urban development and a culture of sustainability in Karlsruhe since 2012. It became clear early on that research in and with society cannot succeed within the university, in the 'ivory tower'. The dialogue between scientists and social actors at eye level as a criterion for the success of good transdisciplinary and transformative research requires a presence in the midst of society. MobiLab thus combines and extends the functionality of the "Future Space" (from 2015) as a local, highly visible address, work and meeting space of the Reallabor and the Quartier-Zukunft-Mobil (from 2013), a heavy-duty bicycle that enabled mobile presence and interaction in urban space.
The MobiLab was realized under the leadership of the Karlsruhe Transformation Center for Sustainability and Cultural Change (KAT) at ITAS and MuT in cooperation with a number of other partner institutions. MuT and KAT jointly coordinate its use. The construction was financed by funds from the KIT Excellence Initiative "Living the Change".
Thanks to flexible equipment, state-of-the-art IT and optional furnishing of the surrounding outdoor space, experiments and many other formats of transdisciplinary and transformative research as well as bidirectional knowledge transfer can be conducted 'on site' with the MobiLab. Modern IT also helps to adequately illustrate the often technical and complex topics - such as autonomous driving, deep geothermal energy, climate change, etc. - e.g. via simulations.
As a transdisciplinary infrastructure, MobiLab is an investment in the future for the entire real-laboratory research at KIT in the long term and will be available to all KIT research and development projects with real-laboratory relevance in the future. In particular, it will support - as a common, connecting research tool - the real labs and real-world lab professorships at KIT.
MobiLab can be used by all KIT research institutions that want to conduct sustainability-oriented real-lab research or transdisciplinary research. For further information and if you are interested in using it, please contact: mobilab-kokreis∂lists.kit.edu.
