Welcome, Nina!

Image Nina Horstmann Portrait

Nina Horstmann joined the Hybrid Team as TU Berlin representative in May 2016 and is going to co-ordinate and drive all of Hybrid’s activities together with her colleagues.

Nina studied art history at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and has a master’s of sciences from Birkbeck, University of London. In London she lead the arts & sciences program with a focus on climate change at Cape Farewell from 2008 to 2013. She has also worked at various cultural institutions and sustainability organizations in project management and business development.

 

My personal interests took me from my studies of art history and archaeology to the issues of climate change, sustainability, innovative business models, and business strategies, resulting in a Magister in Art History (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and a MSc in Business Strategy and the Environment (Birkbeck University London). Along the way I also nurtured my personal interests in literature, politics, and urban design, to name but a few. I always thought of my many interests as a reflection of my general curiosity, or else my indecision as to what is most important or relevant. Only over time the term “transdisciplinary” came to my attention and provided a framework for my jobs and interests.

Having first worked in the fine arts only, I then spent five years with the London based interdisciplinary organization Cape Farewell. Here visual artists, musicians, choreographers, novelists, architects, and many other artists are brought together with scientists of all disciplines and backgrounds, from oceanographers, biologists, and engineers to economists and social scientists. The aim is to stimulate a cross-cutting cultural narrative that will engage and inspire a sustainable, vibrant future society and to build a vision for a sustainable future. The idea to work together across disciplinary boundaries is relevant in lots of settings and brought me, amongst other places, to the University of Umea in Sweden, where I shared my experience on how to work across disciplines in a series of lectures with students and staff of the design department.

Exploring more in-depth the scientific side of my interests and my education, I also worked in sustainability consultancies, concentrating on business and strategic program development and supporting the realization of research and delivery projects. However, as much as I enjoyed those challenges, I felt the lack of the exchange with representatives of different disciplines.

With my start at the Hybrid Plattform I am thrilled to have once again the opportunity to embrace the fruitful work of cross-disciplinary exchanges and to see innovative projects develop.

– Nina

Contact:
Phone +49 (0)30 3185 2721
Mail nina.horstmann[at]hybrid-plattform.org