lab:present & lab:prepare – Prospective scientists and artists present interdisciplinary research

lab:present & lab:prepare are teaching projects in the field of science communication at the Technische Universität Berlin, which support students in developing their own projects and presenting them to the public. The content and form are largely determined by the students, from do-it-yourself tutorials to art installations to more classical scientific lectures. Since the winter semester 19/20, the seminar lab:prepare has been available to prepare students for the presentation module lab:present.

Since the winter semester 2017, lab:present enables students of the TU Berlin and the UdK Berlin to present projects and works, which were created during their studies, to a broad audience. Often, interesting and exciting student projects arise in the context of university teaching, but unfortunately remain hidden in the internships and seminars and are only conceived as a beginner's exercise. lab:present sees here a great potential of budding scientists and artists, which so far remains unused and should be presented to a broad public.

In the lab:prepare course, students can acquire the basic skills for work in the field of science communication. This includes:

  • 3D design and 3D printing
  • Lasercutting
  • programming of microcontrollers, but also
  • Team and project management.

Since 2016, the lab:present team has been organizing a series of seminars with lectures and discussions at which speakers from Udk Berlin and TU Berlin address the connection between art and science, in addition to a course for students.

The events are open to the public and admission is free.

With lab:present and lab:prepare, graduates are accompanied in the preparation of presentations in questions of content, style and organization. In addition, the resulting projects are communicated to a steadily growing network of external and internal organizers who support the projects financially. 

lab:present is offered as an elective course at the TU Berlin and the UdK Berlin with 3 ECTS credits.
> to the module description

lab:prepare is offered until SS 2021, and also has 3 ECTS.
> to the module description

 

Project Content

lab:present allows students of TU Berlin and UdK Berlin to present to a wide audience projects and assignments, which have been developed in the course of their studies. A range of interesting student projects are carried out in connection with their studies but unfortunately stay hidden within the framework of the university – in practical courses and seminars – and do not exceed the concept of beginners’ exercises. lab:present recognizes great potential in these projects and supports aspiring scientists and artists to present their work in its full and enhanced form to a wide public.

The lab:present project allows students to show their works, lab results, study results and calculations in public situations. Students can assess both their own work and the work of others and have the possibility to try out different methods of presentation.

Within the frame of the lab:present project students have the chance to practice working and communicating efficiently and reliably as a group. In addition, they learn to reach out to event organizers and to present their ideas to future partners. They subsequently have the opportunity to show and discuss their results in front of a wide audience. By these means the students become ambassadors of interdisciplinary and liberal university education.

Benefits and Target Group

The target group of the project are students of the TU Berlin and the UdK Berlin, who wish to professionally present one of their projects or assignments to an audience. These presentations may take the form of talks, videos, art installations or even bewildering visuals in the clubs of Berlin.

lab:present aims to enable networking and to present the products of university education (sometimes) in places where they are least expected. This way the students must learn to defend and explain their pieces of work. Far from the security of their university courses, their work pieces become interdisciplinary through open discussion.

A further target group involves those who are inclined to pass on their knowledge and insight as teachers to fellow students. We particularly support students who wish to develop teaching videos or other teaching mediums.

Support Hybrid Plattform

Consulting and support for funding acquisition, proposal writing and assistance in the project delivery and communication.