Projects
Teaching and learning goes hand in hand with research. Staff and students at University College Freiburg are engaged in research and teaching endeavors, also beyond the LAS Program.
Teaching Projects at UCF
UCF is a platform for international and/or interdisciplinary teaching projects. In cooperation with partners at the University of Freiburg and beyond, we offer seminars and projects for students from all different kinds of study programs.
EPICUR – Towards a European University
EPICUR (European Partnership for Innovative Campus Unifying Regions) is a pilot project for the European University of the future. The alliance with nine partners in seven countries focuses on innovative, interdisciplinary, cross-border teaching and learning and on establishing a European campus for students and staff.
Many EPICUR course offerings are based on the LAS didactic approach, i.e., are student-centered and interdisciplinary. Course information is available on the EPICUR website. To apply for courses, please log on to the EPICUR Inter-University Campus using your home University credentials (“myAccount” for University of Freiburg students).
Get in touch with EPICUR staff at UCF!
- Katharina Kiefel – Project and Communication Manager
- Dr. Stefanie Klose – Project Manager and Lecturer “Natural and Societal Sustainability Studies”
- Dr. Steven Randall – Work Package 4 Lead and Lecturer “Key Competence” courses
Wissenschaft – Technologie – Gesellschaft /
Science – Technology – Society
Since 2019, the WTG teaching program (Wissenschaft – Technologie – Gesellschaft / Science – Technology – Society) has sponsored courses exploring the relationships among science and technology (especially the life sciences, environmental sciences, and information technology) and society.
The program offers students the opportunity to propose, develop, and co-teach courses, as well as support for experienced researchers and instructors to teach courses of their own.
DIMA (Digital Interdisciplinary Mini Academy)
IUSTUF DIMA is a program to support learning and teaching activities at Ukrainian Universities. DIMA is organized by a team of academic staff members and student assistants at UCF in close cooperation with Ivan Franko University Lviv. The program is funded within the DAAD framework “Ukraine digital: Studienerfolg in Krisenzeiten sichern”.
Lecture Series at UCF
UCF hosts university and broader public lecture series (usually in German). In the past years, we invited experts from the University of Freiburg and beyond to talk about a variety of interdisciplinary topics:
- Im Dialog: Wissenschaften und ihr Publikum (Winter Semester 2022/23)
- Models Across Disciplines (Summer Semester 2019)
- Kontroversen und Konvergenzen (Winter Semester 2016/17)
- Methoden (Winter Semester 2014/15)
- Wissen (Winter Semester 2013/14)
- Bildung (Winter Semester 2012/13)
FRIAS Lunch Lectures
The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies hosts a semesterly lunch lecture series that offer undergraduate and graduate students a first-hand account of the research projects of current FRIAS fellows and colleagues from across the University. Current and past series are listed on the FRIAS website.
Academia Meets Industry
The event and seminar series Academia Meets Industry brings together students, researchers, and industry managers to discuss complex challenges in science, management, politics, and society from different perspectives. The thematic focus is on emerging issues in the life sciences.
Past Academia meets Industry lecture topics included:
- Transform a World of Data into a World of Intelligence by Annette Green (Vice President DACH at SAS Heidelberg)
- Working in a Global Pharmaceutical Company: Expectations and Opportunities by Dr. Kirsten Lund-Jürgensen (Executive Vice President and President of Pfizer Global Supply at Pfizer Inc., USA)
- Global Governance for Health – The Role of the WHO by Dr. Rüdiger Krech (World Health Organization)
- Beyond Health & Profits by Dr. Hagen Pfundner (CEO Roche Germany)
Past Teaching Projects
- VirtualLAS was funded by the DAAD format International Virtual Academic Collaboration (IVAC) in 2020/21 and 2021/22. With international partners across Europe and the Atlantic, the project focused on (1) collaborative, digital teaching, (2) student-instructor dialogue, and (3) intercultural competencies and team-working skills.
- Creating Responsive, Engaging and Tailored Education with Students (CREATES) was an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership between six European universities in place 2017–2020. The project focused on educational approaches that encourage student agency and self-directed learning and produced several toolkits and publications.
- AU-f einer Reise – Perspektiven zur Bildung an der Alten Universität: Im Sommersemester 2020 hat das UCF den Kurs Die Alte Universität: Bildungs(t)räume im Wandel der Zeit angeboten. Ausgehend von der Geschichte der Alten Uni hat sich das Seminar mit Bildungs(t)räumen im Wandel der Zeit beschäftigt. Die Ergebnisse wurden im Rahmen des Freiburger Stadtjubiläums 2020 veröffentlicht.
- Forschendes Lernen im Uniseum: Zusammen mit dem Uniseum und dem Historischen Seminar hat das UCF unter der Leitung von Prof. Dr. Dieter Speck (WS 2017/18–2018/19) ein Lehrprojekt angeboten, bei dem Ausstellungsbestandteile des Uniseums von Studierenden unter wissenschaftlicher wie museumspraktischer Anleitung neu entwickelt bzw. überarbeitet wurden.
- Faszination Wissenschaft: Hinter die Kulissen blicken – Forschungsdesign und Forschungspolitik für Bachelorstudierende. In den Projektseminaren Faszination Wissenschaft erlernen Studierende die Grundlagen der praktischen Arbeit im Berufsfeld Wissenschaft. (2013–2017)
- Harvard Summer School: In the summer semester 2016 and in cooperation between the University of Freiburg and Harvard University, UCF hosted the first Harvard Summer School in Freiburg.
- IndiTrack: Das interdisziplinäre Zusatzjahr für Bachelorstudierende was a UCF program offered from 2012–2015. It enabled Bachelor students from the University of Freiburg to undertake an additional year of interdisciplinary studies between the second and third years of their Bachelor programs. The project was funded by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft and the Kultusministerkonferenz in the national Exzellente Lehre competition.
- LehrehochN: Financed by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, UCF hosted a series of Problem-Based Learning workshops with Prof. Wim Gijselaers und Prof. Harm Hospers from Maastricht University (2013–2014).
Research Projects at UCF
The breadth of research conducted by UCF staff and students reflects the interdisciplinarity of the LAS Program. The Professorship in Epistemology and Theory of Science covers systematic and historical perspectives on epistemology and on the sciences and humanities. It focuses on political epistemology, understood as the intertwinement of epistemology and philosophy of science with social and political theory. The Professorship in Science and Technology Studies pursues the empirical study of science and technology, with an emphasis on the actual practices of scientists and engineers as they engage in knowledge-making and the development of technologies. This includes investigating the impact of this knowledge and technology on society.
Recent Research Highlights
Publication by UCF alum Sabina Grigore (Governance)
- Grigore, S. A. (2024). The Narrow Definition of Genocide & Its Role in Investigating and Prosecuting Charges of Genocide in Romania. Problems of Post-Communism, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2024.2337944
Publications by UCF alum Denicia Kassie (Environmental and Sustainability Sciences)
- Kassie, Denicia. Unravelling the legal labyrinth: Investigating barriers to effective adoption and enforcement of international environmental law in domestic jurisdictions, Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 352, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119944
- Diehl, J.M.C., Kassie, D. & Biedermann, P.H.W. Friend or foe: Ambrosia beetle response to volatiles of common threats in their fungus gardens. Symbiosis 89, 353–358 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-023-00914-y
Latest Publications by Prof. Frieder Vogelmann
- Die Wirksamkeit des Wissens. Eine politische Epistemologie. Berlin: Suhrkamp 2022.
- Umkämpfte Wissenschaften – zwischen Idealisierung und Verachtung. Stuttgart: Reclam 2023.
Student Research and Publications
LAS provides students space and guidance to engage in supervised research projects. And students and graduates (co-)publish first research findings:
- Maria Jankowska (Culture and History): Jankowska, M. (2025). Explaining Mansplaing through Frameworks of Silencing, Epistemic Injustice, and Gender Metaphysics. Stance, Volume 18(1), 2025, 74-87. https://doi.org/10.33043/wdhdMhNW
- Sarah Werner (Life Sciences): Werner, S. S. & Stallwitz, A. (2024) Barriers to and Facilitators of Opioid Substitution Therapy in Penal Institutions: A Qualitative Study from Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, International Journal of Social Work, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.5296/ijsw.v11i2.22192
- Philip Strecker (Life Sciences), Martin Broeker, Simon Büchner, Raphael Scheible. Usability Evaluation of a Modern Multilingual MeSH Browser. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 295, 37-40 (2023). https://ebooks.iospress.nl/doi/10.3233/SHTI220653
- Vahid Asimi (Life Sciences): Asimi, V., Sampath Kumar, A., Niskanen, H. et al. Hijacking of transcriptional condensates by endogenous retroviruses. Nat Genet 54, 1238–1247 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01132-w
- Marie Vetter (Culture and History): Vetter, M. (2022). Kuratieren als antirassistische Praxis. Rote Fäden und ein Versuch der Sortierung. Studien zur Materiellen Kultur, Band 48, Oldenburg.
- Philip Strecker and Suhail Yaziji (Life Sciences): Scheible, R., Strecker, P., Yazijy, S., Thomczyk, F., Talpa, R., Puhl, A., & Boeker, M. (2022). A Multilingual Browser Platform for Medical Subject Headings. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 289, 384-387. https://ebooks.iospress.nl/doi/10.3233/SHTI210939
- Amelie Müller (Earth and Environmental Sciences): Amelie Müller, Lorenz Friedrich, Christian Reichel, Sina Herceg, Max Mittag, Dirk Holger Neuhaus. A comparative life cycle assessment of silicon PV modules: Impact of module design, manufacturing location and inventory, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Volume 230, 15 September 2021, 111277, doi: 10.1016/j.solmat.2021.111277
- Werner, S. S. (Life Sciences), Binder, N., Toews, I., Schünemann, H. J., Meerpohl, J. J., & Schwingshackl, L. (2021). Use of the GRADE approach for rating the certainty of evidence in evidence syntheses published in high impact factor nutrition journals: A methodological survey. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Volume 135, 54-69, doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.02.010
- Werner, S. S. (Life Sciences), Afandiyeva, G., Karimova, G., Kiefer, S., Abdujabborov, N., Dzhamalova, M., Bandaev, I., & Prytherch, H. (2021). Scaling up Business Plans in Tajikistan: A qualitative study of the history, barriers, facilitators and lessons learnt. Global Health Action, 14(1), 1947552. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2021.1947552
- Chiara Giardi (Culture and History): Vom Guten Hirten zum Theater. Kleinplastik als Untersuchungs- und Vermittlungsmethode, in: Un-learning Ecologies: Workbook Kunstvermittlung in der ökologischen Krise / Workbook Art Education in the Ecological Crisis, edited by Cynthia Gavranic, Janina Krepart, Chantal Küng, and Maren Ziese (2021), Zurich University of the Arts / Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst
- Daniel Hölle (Life Sciences): Daniel Hölle, Stefanie Aufschnaiter, Johanna Bogon, Christina Pfeuffer, Andrea Kiesel & Roland Thomaschke (2020): Quality ratings of wine bottles in e-commerce: the influence of time delays and spatial arrangement, Journal of Wine Research, doi: 10.1080/09571264.2020.1723067
- Megan Schneck (Life Sciences): Aneliya Antonova, Barbara Hummel, Ashkan Khavaran, Desiree M. Redhaber, Fernando Aprile-Garcia, Prashant Rawat, Kathrin Gundel, MeganSchneck, Erik C. Hansen, Jan Mitschke, Gerhard Mittler, Cornelius Miething, Ritwick Sawarkar (2019): Heat-Shock Protein 90 Controls the Expression of Cell-Cycle Genes by Stabilizing Metazoan-Specific Host-Cell Factor HCFC1, Cell Reports Volume 29, Issue 6, 5 November 2019, Pages 1645-1659.e9. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.09.084
- Patrick Léon Gross (Earth and Environmental Sciences): Nicholas Buchanan, Sabine Sané: Blue skies in the making: Air quality action plans and urban imaginaries in London, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. 2019 Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 48, 85-95. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.09.019
- Lena Skatulla (Life Sciences): Chleilat, E., Skatulla, L., Rahhal, B., Hussein, MT., Feuerstein, M., Krieglstein, K., Roussa, E. (2018). TGF-β Signaling Regulates Development of Midbrain Dopaminergic and Hindbrain Serotonergic Neuron Subgroups, Neuroscience, 2018, Jun 15, 381, doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.04.019
- Ruth Falkenberg (Life Sciences): Falkenberg, R.I., Eising, C. & Peters, M.L. (2018). Yoga and Immune System Functioning: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials, J Behav Med, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-018-9914-y
- Monja Sauvagerd (Governance): India’s Strategies on its Periphery: A Case Study in the India–Bhutan Relationship. ASIEN – The German Journal on Contemporary Asia, 146 (January 2018), 56-77
- Clara Nicolai (Earth and Environmental Sciences): Maier, M., Paulus, S., Nicolai, C., Stutz, K. P., & Nauer, P. A. (2017). Drivers of Plot-Scale Variability of CH4 Consumption in a Well-Aerated Pine Forest Soil. Forests, 8(6), 193. doi: 10.3390/f8060193
- Ruth Falkenberg (Life Sciences): Falkenberg, R. I. (2016). An Evolutionary Perspective on Iron Deficiency, Science of the Human Body, 1(1), 24
Research and Publications Archive
Research on student-centered higher education
- Mathias Hempfling and Lisa Hüther-Pape (2022). Integrating the student perspective: A framework for teaching competences in European higher education. Preprint July 13, 2022, https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1173078/v1
Latest Publication by Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt (2021)
- Lipphardt/Surdu/Ellebrecht/Pfaffelhuber/Wienroth/Rappold: “Europe’s Roma people are vulnerable to poor practice in genetics”, Nature 599, 368-371 (2021), doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03416-3
Book publication / translation by Prof. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (August 2020)
- (editor) Making Civilizations. The World before 600, Cambridge, MA 2020, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (transl. of Geschichte der Welt. Die Welt vor 600: Frühe Zivilisationen, München 2017, C.H. Beck)
Book publication by UCF dean of studies Prof. Dr. Sitta von Reden (December 2019)
- Handbook of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Economies. Volume 1: Contexts, edited by Sitta von Reden (2019), De Gruyter Oldenbourg.
Book publication by UCF staff member Dr. Marie Muschalek (July 2019)
- Muschalek, M. (2019): Violence as Usual. Policing and the Colonial State in German Southwest Africa, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Joint UCF Student-Staff Publication (February 2019)
- Gross, P., Buchanan, N. & Sané, S. (2019): Blue skies in the making: Air quality action plans and urban imaginaries in London, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 48, 85-95. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.09.019
Publications on Didactics in Political Science Teaching (September 2018)
- Mikalayeva, L. Introduction: encouraging student reflection – approaches to teaching and assessment, Eur Polit Sci (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-018-0182-7
- Mikalayeva, L., Panov, S. & Schleutker, E. Reflective writing for enhancing knowledge integration in modularised study programmes, Eur Polit Sci (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-018-0183-6
Publication of the Multidisciplinary STS@Freiburg Initiative (May 2018)
- “Forensic DNA Phenotyping Legislation Cannot be Based on ‘Ideal FDP.'” N. Buchanan, F. Staubach, M. Wienroth, P. Pfaffelhuber, M. Surdu, A. Lipphardt, A. Köttgen, D. Syndercombe-Court, and V. Lipphardt. Forthcoming in Forensic Science International: Genetics. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsigen.2018.01.009