With the question “What drives people?”, Ulm University’s Autumn Academy has once again attracted around 420 interested senior citizens to the campus. From 28 September to 1 October, the Centre for General Continuing Academic Education (ZAWiW)is hosting lectures, workshops and discussions under the title ‘People on the Move’. Day tickets for the lectures in German are still available!
This time, the Academy Week organised by the Centre for General Continuing Academic Education (Zentrum für Allgemeine Wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung- ZAWiW) focuses not only on physical movement and mobility, but also on intellectual, social and political changes. In the opening lecture, cultural studies scholar Dr Silke Zimmer-Merkle from theKarlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) traced the history of human mobility from the Stone Age to the present day. “Mobility is a basic human need, but it is also what we make of it,” she said, referring to current challenges such as the climate crisis, the transport transition and inclusion for all. “Now is the time to find new solutions for our mobility.”
Prior to this, the outgoing University President, Professor Michael Weber, welcomed the guests for the last time in the packed H4/5 lecture hall. As a parting gift, he was presented with a lifetime honorary pass for the Academy Weeks, which take place twice a year. The District Administrator of the Alb-Donau district, Heiner Scheffold, delivered a welcoming address.
The other lectures during the Academy Week focus on prospects for a fair mobility transition as well as on the medical aspects of mobility – ranging from physical activity as a key stimulus for all organ systems, through to prostheses and exoskeletons that enable people to regain independence and quality of life, right through to fall prevention and prophylaxis. In addition, a ‘Knowledge Market’ on Thursday lunchtime offers the chance to chat with scientists and to learn about and try out the research projects on the topic of movement that are being presented.
Day tickets for the lectures cost 15 euros and are available from the Centre for General Scientific Education (Zentrum für Allgemeine Wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung- ZAWiW) secretariat and at the box office daily from 9.30 am in the Forum at Ulm University! The lectures begin at 10.00 am each day from Tuesday to Thursday, with an additional session at 2.00 pm on Thursday.
The next Academy Week will take place from 5 to 8 April 2027.
Further information: Centre for General Scientific Education (Zentrum für Allgemeine Wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung - ZAWiW), email: info@zawiw.de, tel.: 0731/50-26601
Text and media contact: Daniela Stang