The University of Konstanz understands knowledge transfer as a reciprocal feedback process between the science community and non-university actors, in which research-based knowledge is communicated, applied, and leveraged. Impulses and needs from society feed back into academic research and teaching. The university supports all members in their transfer activities and innovation processes and provides offers for students, researchers, and external parties.
The cluster’s transfer activities focus on the research results developed in the cluster and the methods used. The goal of the cluster's knowledge transfer activities is to make the generated scientific knowledge accessible and usable. We thereby aim to contribute to the promotion of innovation, transdisciplinary research, and incorporation of questions from industry and society into academia. Cluster researchers are often directly involved in the transfer activities, therefore we offer training for our research community.
By fostering collaborations and advancing knowledge transfer, we connect research with real-world applications. We are committed to helping our research community transform academic insights into actionable knowledge. This includes advice on training opportunities as well as organisational support for innovative engagement formats.
We also offer funding for transfer projects linked to the CASCB research, including collaborations with non-academic partners. These projects can take the form of pilot studies, experiments, co-publications, events, or exhibitions. Working with partners from the industry, public sector, non-profits, and cultural institutions, our members can make their research accessible to diverse audiences and develop practical applications that benefit a wide range of stakeholders.
Examples for Cluster Transfer Activities
- Sustainable nutrition: PI Renner has worked for many years on the Scientific Advisory Board on Agricultural Policy, Food and Consumer Health Protection (WBAE) at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The report on more sustainable nutrition published in 2020, which Renner oversaw and co-authored, led to concrete recommendations that triggered many discussions and decisively defined the problem area. For example, the first national nutrition strategy, adopted by the federal government in 2024, is based on the WBAE recommendations.
- AI: PI Keim advises on AI methods within the ACATECH working group Technological Enablers and Data Science. In 2024, PI Couzin advised the French Ambassador to Germany, H.E. François Delattre, on the role of collective behaviour in advancing new technologies within the context of Franco-German cooperation on AI development.
- Wildlife management: Cluster research is inspired by and provides insights and solutions to conflicts between human activity and wildlife conservation, both in highly industrialised countries in Europe and less industrialised areas in the Global South. Our glyphosate study provided new clues on the possible mechanisms of species decline through agrochemicals. Internal collaborator (IC) El Hady advises and works with New York City on managing the rat population. PI Fruth is studying the dynamics of animal and collective human hunting activity in buffer zones of wildlife conservation areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the expected results promote community participatory wildlife management.