It’s hot these days in summery Berlin – and everybody seems to await school vacation, semester break and holidays far outside the city. Expertise on the most beautiful and least crowded bathing lakes around Berlin and the best ice cream shops (avant-garde or old-school) in town is shared during almost every lunch break.
In the last months, we've discussed other hot topics, in particular Hybrid Plattform's future. As you know, we were funded for a total of four years by the European Regional Development Fund, through the Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Research as part of "Project Future". This pilot phase ended in June this year, so the question was: will Hybrid Plattform remain a "future program"? The answer is: YES! Both universities, the University of the Arts Berlin and the Technische Universität Berlin agreed to continue Hybrid Plattform's transdisciplinary work on the Campus Charlottenburg. We are very happy and relieved about this great news!
Looking back on the first years, the joint project platform of the UdK Berlin and TU Berlin has sustainably enriched the campus with new event formats, the creation of the Hybrid Lab and the initiation of many Hybrid Projects. Beyond the limits of the universities, the program attained national and international visibility. The Hybrid Team and the universities' directorates in an ongoing evaluation process identified more potential for future transdisciplinary collaborations. Thus, since July 1st we have been continuing the exchange and the support of transdisciplinary research and education. However, we are still working on a new concept for the next two years that will build up on our experience, include established fields of activity and integrate new work areas. The summer will remain exciting!
On another note: Not only Hybrid Plattform will be continued, we can also report news from the Hybrid Project "Team Rooftop". It seems that for at least two years from the upcoming fall semester on, the rooftop building will be on display and in interdisciplinary use in the heart of the campus, just behind the TU main building. Long live the Hybrid culture!
– Julia