CuKnow Mayday 2026

On Wednesday, 13 May 2026, the KIT Graduate School Cultures of Knowledge brought together PhD researchers from a wide range of disciplines for this year’s MayDay.

At the core of CuKnow lies the idea of bridging knowledge across disciplines. The graduate school supports doctoral researchers in navigating between different scientific perspectives and in reflecting on how knowledge is created, communicated, and translated across fields. The goal is not only interdisciplinary exchange, but also building the skills needed to connect different forms of scientific knowledge.

A central part of MayDay is the tandem presentation format: doctoral researchers present and discuss the work of colleagues from different disciplinary backgrounds in front of the audience. This approach fosters exchange across disciplines and trains the ability to engage with unfamiliar research perspectives.

This year’s tandem talks include:
-     Evidence in Forensic Series — Annegret Scheibe (literary and media studies), presented by Elisa Adams (educational sciences)
-     The Temporal Dynamics of Intention — Jakob Hedin (sports science), presented by Carolina Alvarez (architecture)
-     Sports Crises in Professional Soccer — Constantin Rausch (sports science), presented by Larissa Brandenstein (regional studies)

Another highlight is CuKnow Stories, where doctoral researchers reflect on formative moments, challenges, and experiences from their PhD journey. Many thanks to Narek Mirzoyan, Hannah Knoop, Constantin Rausch and Annegret Scheibe for sharing their perspectives and inspiring fellow researchers.

The program also features:
• a collaborative Open Science session introducing PhD researchers to current debates and practices in transparent and reproducible research, encouraging reflection on disciplinary differences and experiences, and highlighting existing Open Science support structures and tools at KIT
• insights into good scientific practice by Prof. Dr. Marcus Popplow, Ombudsperson at KIT
• a cameo contribution by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Hinz, Vice Provost Early Career Researchers

Together, these formats create spaces for bridging knowledge across disciplines and for reflecting on the diverse ways scientific knowledge is produced and communicated.