Transfer projects of the second doctoral program (2021–2025)

Lianara Dreyer
What are the conditions of education in the crafts like? What images does society have of craft trades and what significance does these images have for the choice of profession? These are some of the questions addressed by the "Craft Comedy" project. The differences between society's image of craft trades, the self-image of craftsmen and craftswomen, and the working reality of trainees in the craft trades are contrasted. The aim of the project is to raise awareness among the general public of the current challenges faced by employees and, in particular, trainees in the craft trades and to develop strategies to make working in the craft sector more attractive.

Jonas Ferdinand
Working in the video games industry combines future trends: digital technologies are in the foreground, and flexible working is widespread. These future trends are also being researched at the Science Center Berlin.  At a Game Jam in November 2023, developers and scientists explored questions about the future of work by developing video game prototypes together. In this way, a highly innovative and creativity-led transfer method was established that conveyed science with the help of technological potential and made it possible to experience it hands-on.

Marina Fischer
Anti-discrimination structures and effective protection against violence in the artistic spheres of work and education are systemic challenges that can only be met by raising awareness and prevention at all levels.  Marina Fischer worked on the empirical findings from her dissertation together with the designers Laura Quade and Yulia Ostheimer from the UdK Berlin. The result is a booklet on science communication that underlines the importance of creating safer learning and working conditions for young artists.

Siavash Valizadeh
The main aim of the transfer project "Labor and Globality: A cinematic Sketch" is to create a more global idea of work which does not halt at the borders of the working world in Western Europe. The reality of the work and its alternative forms shall be compared and presented side by side. For this purpose, experts and people on the margins of the current working world from and outside Europe are asked for their opinion on their work and their vision of the future of labor. These interesting conversations and the visual recordings shall flow together cinematically and ultimately result in a short multilingual documentary movie which is accessible to all people in society in terms of form and content.

Nathan Weis
The production of electric cars is considered a contribution to climate protection, and the production of electric car batteries furthermore as key in the achievement of European technological sovereignty. Different stations are approached in a text-based online game, from the political level and the goals associated with electric mobility to industrial implementation and regional economic dynamics. The development of a battery ecosystem in Europe will also be addressed. In addition to gaining knowledge on the individual aspects of the transformation to electromobility, these are embedded in a larger context. How do electromobility, climate protection and European sovereignty relate to each other?

Maximilian Wilken
In this project, educational materials and methods are developed and tested that deal with the relationship between democracy and the economy. The aim is to accessibly present academic debates on plural forms of economic organisation (from cooperatives to democratic enterprises to public services) for non-academic audiences and to develop educational formats that enable people to understand the economy as a democratically designable part of society. The materials will be tested in several seminars and published as a brochure at the end of the project period.

Transfer projects of the first doctoral program (2016–2021)

Vizualising the Changing World of Work (Lisa Basten)

In cooperation with a team of freelance designers, a variety of infographics were developed, illustrating the change of work in terms of structural change of employment, the challenges of negotiating work and the change of value added chains.

The infographics can either be used in print, online, as posters or fully animated web versions for social media purpose. In the final publications of a Hans Böckler Foundation’s expert committee, the infographics already illustrated the "Future Work“.

Risk Assessment of Psychological Strain (Franziska Kößler)

In her transfer project, Franziska Kößler assessed psychological risks within the companies that she is also cooperating for her research with. She used questionnaires that are adapted to different occupations, based on the interviews and observations she conducted. She thereby examined stressors and resources the employees face. Those factors might be part of their tasks, the organization of their work or their social relationships at work.

Discrimination Meets Digitalization in the Visual Society Program (ViSoP): Making invisible things visible - discrimination in digital HR applications (Esther Kroll & Kathleen Warnhoff)

In this project, Esther Kroll (psychology) and Kathleen Warnhoff (sociology) are working in an interdisciplinary team with two designers from UdK (University of the Arts Berlin) – Doreen Baldauf and Sascha (Aleksandra) Bespalova. The mutual goal is display the very complex topic of discrimination in digital human resources applications in a way that also sparks a debate outside of scientific areas.  As first result, an interactive poster was presented at the Long Night of Sciences 2018. The poster's title is "Digitalization through rose colored glasses". Depending on the people wearing either rose or blue colored glasses, they are able to see the hopes respectively concerns that employees expressed when they were asked about the digitalization in their companies.

Social Science Meets School (Friederike Molitor)

The aim of this project was to share insights from sociological research with pupils from Berlin high schools. Therefore, seminars on different topics were planned to acquaint pupils with sociological insights that are also of particular relevance to pupils‘ everyday lives. The first seminar focused on persistent gender inequalities on the labor market, while the second seminar discussed the use of statistical and graphical representations in media outlets.

Job-Sharing from the Perspective of Scientists and Practitioners - A Radio Report (Nicolas Morgenroth)

The concept of job-sharing is gaining increased attention again. Is it possible to combine part-time work with career while enhancing the work-life-balance? In a short radio report voices from scientists, practitioners and human relation professionals give their answers to this question.

Participation Within Digital Offices - Discussion on New Strategies and Concepts (Setareh Radmanesch)

The work within digital offices has clearly led to a higher working speed. On a nearly daily base, the organization of work is negotiated. What does this mean for workers' participation? How can participation accompany these changes and become an active part of it? Together with practitioners, these questions will be looked into.

Welfare of Resistance: A Photographic Project on Daily Practices of Resistance to Social and Employment Precarity (Giulia Tattarini)

By using pictures, videos and texts, 'Welfare of Resistance' aims to inform a non-academic public about the nature of precariousness in Germany. In particular, the pictures transport the social and economic consequences of the Hartz IV reform for its recipients. Moreover, they tell about ways of coping with precariousness—ways and practices to resist. The written boards (English and German) show the broad context, describing what precariousness is and who the Hartz IV recipients are; the visual part focuses on the ‘Sozialberatung’ in Berlin, their activities, and the people who participate in it. Photos and videos tell stories about individual and collective agency; stories in which solidarity and mutualism become powerful tools to fight insecurity, precarity, and stigma.