Real World Lab vs. Solutions

Last week Katharina Gugerell participated in the UFZ-workshop and writing retreat “Real World Labs versus Solutions – Exploring Possibilities in Digital Laboratories” in Leipzig. Katharina was invited to give a keynote lecture on “Playful Futures: Creating Spaces for Imagination, Empathy, and Knowledge Integration”, where she presented learnings insights from the Biodiversa+ project ALPMEMA and previous gaming-related projects. 

The rise of “real-world labs” and (i-)td approaches has strengthened collaboration across research, policy, industry, and society, yet a strong focus on predefined solutions can constrain experimentation, imagination, and knowledge integration. During the workshop, the participants discussed how different methods and tools—such as serious games or playfulness —can foster imagination, exploration, discovery – and also allow failure.

A big Thank-You to Danny Otto and Matthias Gross from UFZ Leipzig for bringing together such an nice group of scientists, and especially to Danny Otto for the kind invitation and excellent organization of this fantastic workshop and writing retreat!

The Austrian part of the research project ALPMEMA is fully funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF)