 Technology Assessment Correspondence CourseThe energy transition creates new challenges for people working in the sector. A continuing education program of the KIT Fernstudienzentrum (Distance Learning Center) under the aegis of ITAS provides professionals with important key qualifications. more |
 Study supports free "Super WiFi" [04.12.2014]ITAS scientist proposes in the international journal "Telecommunications Policy" to turn certain TV frequencies that will become free into common property to use them for the expansion of existing wireless networks (WiFi). more |
 TAB report on "Technischer Fortschritt im Gesundheitswesen" [28.11.2014]The TAB report analyzes the impact of the medical-technical progress on the cost of the health system in interaction with the associated conditions. more |
 The Next Horizon of TA: Register now! [20.11.2014]The final conference of the EU-Project "Parliaments and Civil Society in Technology Assessment" (PACITA) will take place in Berlin from February 25th to 27th 2015. The preliminary program is now online. more |
 Baden-Württemberg funds "Urban Transition Lab" in Karlsruhe [17.11.2014]The Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts of the state of Baden-Württemberg will fund the "Reallabor 131 – KIT findet Stadt" ("Urban Transition Lab 131") from 2015 onwards for a period of three years. more |
 ITAS journal 3/2014 published [17.11.2014]The new issue of "Technology Assessment – Theory and Practice" (TATuP) focuses on "Future Food Systems: Challenges and Perspectives". more |
 On the way to the man machine? [13.11.2014]On Tuesday, 25 November 2014, ITAS will start the new series of events "technik.kontrovers". At theme nights every three months ITAS scientists will get into dialog with the public on societally controversial technology issues. more |
 LCA workshop for young researchers [12.11.2014]The meeting focuses on "uncertainty in Life Cycle Assessment" and encourages local LCA-networking in Karlsruhe. Registration deadline is December 15th 2014. more |
 Appointment to the BMBF Advisory Board [10.11.2014]Michael Decker, Professor of Technology Assessment and Deputy Head of ITAS will assist the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as Chairman of the Advisory Board on Innovation and Technology Analysis. more |
 ITAS Director new member of the acatech Executive Board [06.11.2014]On 4 November 2014 the members of acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering elected Armin Grunwald into the Executive Board. more |
 TAB seeks expert about outcome of daylight saving time [29.10.2014]Deadline for proposals is 28.11.2014. more |
 Citizen forum kicked off [27.10.2014]On October 11th 2014, the ITAS project "District Future – Urban Lab" started the participatiory process "BürgerForum Nachhaltige Oststadt" in cooperation with the Karlsruhe city administration and the Bertelsmann Foundation. more |
 "Better Technologies with no Regret?" [23.10.2014]The Society for the Study of Nanoscience and Emerging Technologies (S.NET) held its 6th annual meeting at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology from 21 to 24 of September 2014. more |
 Interactive workshops on digital knowledge [08.10.2014]How could responsible innovations in the digital society look like? ITAS will ask this question in co-operation with FabLab Karlsruhe at two interactive workshops on 11 October and 8 November 2014. All those interested are invited to participate. more |
| New publication: TAB-Brief No. 44 [24.09.2014] The new edition of the TAB letter deals mainly with industrial methods of climate manipulation, known as "geoengineering" or "climate engineering". more |
| New dissertation project on sustainable options to improve waste management [19.09.2014] The dissertation project "Sustainable options to improve the waste management of Belo Horizonte, Brazil" seeks to analyze Belo Horizonte city as an example of the challenges and opportunities that similar cities are facing for reducing the quantity of waste for final treatment and disposal. more |
| New dissertation project about the Ethics of Innovation [17.09.2014] The dissertation project "Futures, Visions and Responsibility – The Ethics of Innovation" deals with the normative questions of visionary practices. The dissertation will answer the question whether distributers of technological visions are responsible for the technological development. Different concepts of responsibility will be examined and applied. more |
 New publication: Innovation and Responsibility [10.09.2014]"Innovation and Responsibility: Engaging with New and Emerging Technologies" constitutes the fifth volume in the series "Studies of New and Emerging Technologies / S.NET". The contributions explore manifold aspects of responsible innovation. more |
| Public committee meeting on TAB report "Climate Engineering" [08.09.2014] Based on the results of the TAB project "Climate Engineering" discuss on 09.24.2014 members of the German Bundestag with experts and the public. more |
| Experts wanted on the topic "Data Mining" [27.08.2014] Deadline for proposals on two case studies is 18.09.2014. more |
| New publication: "Offene Innovationsprozesse als Cloud-Services" [20.08.2014] This is the first issue of the new series "Horizon-Scanning". more |
| Experts wanted on "Chancen und Risiken mobiler und digitaler Kommunikation in der Arbeitswelt" [19.08.2014] Deadline for tenders has been extended until 01.09.2014. more |
| The new activity report of the TAB is available [19.08.2014] The activity report 2012-2013 provides an overview of the activities and results of the TAB. more |
 Registration open for S.NET 2014 [12.08.2014]The 6th Annual Conference of the "Society for the Study of Nanoscience and Emerging Technologies" (S.NET) will take place in Karlsruhe between September 21 and 24 this year. more |
 New publication: "Future Topics of Innovation and Technology Analysis", Volume 2 [11.08.2014]The project "Identification of new topics for the innovation and technology analysis of the BMBF" pursued the question of which issues should and could be discussed by Technology Studies. more |
 Deadline for Paper Submission for the PACITA conference "The Next Horizon of TA" extended [08.08.2014]Until the 1st of October 2014 Abstracts may be submitted. more |
| Issue 2/2014 of the ITAS journal "Technology Assessment – Theory and Practice" (TATuP) has been published [31.07.2014] Under the heading "Risikodiskurse / Diskursrisiken" (Risk Discourses / Discourse Risks), the central theme addresses linguistic depictions of technological risks and their consequences. more |
 New publication: Responsibility in Nanotechnology Development [29.07.2014]This book, published by Springer, is the outcome of a workshop jointly organized in 2011 by CIGA (University of Padova) and ITAS. more |
| PhD project on energy scenarios completed [28.07.2014] Christian Dieckhoff successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled "Modelled Future – On the Theory and Practice of Energy Scenarios in the Context of Scientific Policy Advice" at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology on 18 June 2014. more |
| Conference "Sustainability 2014" points up pathways towards the sustainable city [24.07.2014] In May 2014, the international conference "Sustainability 2014: Future Urban Development at Different Scales" took place at ITAS. Experts from different disciplines from research and practice reflected on current challenges and perspectives of the sustainable development of cities, urban regions and districts. more |
| TAB: Experts wanted [17.07.2014] The Büro für Technikfolgen-Abschätzung beim Deutschen Bundestag released 5 new requests for experts. more |
| TAB report on "Climate Engineering" [14.07.2014] Whether and under what conditions climate engineering could provide a contribution to the prevention of climate change, or even should, is the focus of the newly published TAB report. more |
| PACITA Conference: Call for Papers open! [10.07.2014] We are asking for paper submissions for the PACITA Conference "The Next Horizon of Technology Assessment". more |
| Expert wanted on the topic "man-machine delimitation" [08.07.2014] TAB was assigned to provide study on the topic "Mensch-Maschine-Entgrenzungen: Zwischen künstlicher Intelligenz und Human Enhancement" (man-machine delimitation between artificial intelligence and human enhancement). more |
| New publication: TAB working report No. 158 [07.07.2014] The working report is entitled "Herausforderungen einer nachhaltigen Wasserwirtschaft" (Challenges of sustainable water management) and is now available in its final version. more |
| Launch of the European Commission's energy think tank: INSIGHT_E [03.07.2014] Coordinated by KTH, Stockholm, KIT and 11 European partners have launched the INSIGHT_E project, which will serve as the European Commission's energy think tank. The multidisciplinary think tank consists of experts from the energy sector, top researchers, engineers, leading trade, economic, environmental, and legal experts. more |
| New topics for the TAB [02.07.2014] The German Bundestag approved the new work program of the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag (TAB) for 2014/2015. more |
| Second step of the TRANSFORuM project (Transforming European Transport through an Active Actors Forum) completed [30.06.2014] The second series of four thematic workshops within the TRANSFORuM project is now completed. ITAS organized thematic workshops in May and June 2014 on Urban Mobility, Long-distance freight, High-speed Rail, and Multimodal Information, Management and Payment Systems. more |
 Awards for two ITAS-Projects related to the United Nations Decade "Education for Sustainable Development" [26.06.2014]The projects "District Future – Urban Lab" and "Karlsruhe School of Sustainability" have been awarded the status of an official project for the last two years of the UN Decade. more |
| "Karlsruhe School of Sustainability" started [24.06.2014] Since spring 2014 KIT is establishing a broad spectrum of courses for Sustainable Development, from introductions for first-year students to training for sustainability scientists. more |
| New Framework Contract for Providing Scientific Services on TA for the European Parliament starting in 2014 [23.06.2014] After a call for tenders for a framework contract covering the coming years of TA activities of the European Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel (STOA), it has now been decided that the European Technology Assessment Group (ETAG) represented by ITAS will continue to support TA activities at the European Parliament. more |
 Winner of the university competition 2014 "Mehr als Bits und Bytes" [12.06.2014]The project proposal "Which knowledge do we want? Responsible ways to collaboratively shape digital knowledge" is one of 15 winners of the German wide university competition "More than bits and bytes – junior researchers communicate their work". more |
| TAB: Experts wanted [11.06.2014] Experts wanted on the topic "Handlungsoptionen für die Kommunikation und Organisation des Interessenausgleichs bei Infrastrukturprojekten vor Ort". more |
| Helmholtz Alliance ENERGY-TRANS publishes policy brief on "The Future of the Energy Transition in Germany" [20.05.2014] In a second policy brief researchers from the Helmholtz Alliance ENERGY-TRANS take a stand on current important controversial issues from the German energy trans formation and specify fundamental challenges to provide orientation for sustainable energy transition policy. more |
 Neuerscheinung: Society of the Query Reader [19.05.2014]Search engines have become intertwined in our daily routines and their algorithms determine which part of the web we get to see. Combined with the monopoly-like market situation this leads to multifaceted problems. more |
| TAB enhances international visibility of selected studies [12.05.2014] The publication of a further TAB final report in English means that all the titles in the English TAB book series are now available worldwide as Book-on-Demand. more |
 openTA presents comprehensive bibliography of social science TA literature [08.05.2014]In cooperation with GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, the project openTA has compiled a bibliography on "Technology Assessment as a subject of social science literature". more |
| TAB results in brief: TAB-Fokus [05.05.2014] The first two issues of the TAB Focus discuss the most recently published work reports on remote sensing and the modern postal services. more |
 Issue 1/2014 of the ITAS journal "Technology Assessment – Theory and Practice" (TATuP) has been published [30.04.2014]The thematic focus of this issue is titled "Traffic futures – visions beyond current public attention". more |
| New project launched: Energy Radar Baden-Württemberg [11.04.2014] With the historic decision to phase out nuclear energy following the Fukushima accident and the conversion to renewable energy, Germany is faced with the Herculean task of achieving a reduction in fossil energy supply. In this context, ITAS (together with partners) launched a research project with the focus on Baden-Württemberg. more |
| Project on Cloud Computing: gaps in confidentiality require better protection [11.04.2014] A project conducted on behalf of the European Parliament on "Cloud Computing and Social Network Sites" analyzed the market situation, identified the main impacts and risks and proposed policy options. more |
| Successful workshop "Experimental Society" [28.03.2014] The workshop "Experimental society – the experiment as dispositif of the knowledge society?" was very successfully held by ITAS on 20 and 21 February 2014. more |
| Discussion in the European Parliament about IT security and efficiency of eGovernment [24.03.2014] A project conducted on behalf of the European Parliament on the “Security of eGovernment” addressed whether data, for example from medical applications, procurement or border identification procedures, are handled in a secure and efficient way. more |
| ITAS starts a preliminary project on demand-oriented technology design with the "Evangelische Heimstiftung" [18.03.2014] The aim of the new MOVEMENZ project is the development of specifications for mobile technologies to provide the infrastructural preconditions and conceptual standards that allow people with dementia to move as freely as possible in their neighborhood according to their individual needs and requirements. more |
| EU project "ReNewTown" presented outcomes at its final conference in Ljubljana in February 2014 [13.03.2014] A center for cultural events, a museum of everyday culture, an open-air venue for all generations and an advisory center for start-up entrepreneurs – these are all examples for the outcomes of "ReNewTown". The aim of the EU project, in which ITAS participated, was the revitalization of towns in Central and Eastern Europe. more |
| New publication: TAB-Brief Nr. 43 [12.03.2014] On time for the presentation of the TAB in the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment of the German Bundestag the new TAB letter was published. more |
| New publication: "Post ohne Briefträger" (Mail without postman) [10.03.2014] TAB sees a need for political regulation because of decreasing mail volumes. more |
| openTA portal launched [07.03.2014] A new internet portal for those interested in Technology Assessment in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland has been launched. more |
| New ITAS project on the compatibility of technology and networks in home care [25.02.2014] It is impossible to provide responsible nursing care without a dense support network. In the framework of a start-up project, the Institute for the Study of Christian Social Service, Faculty of Theology of Heidelberg University and ITAS examine the complex co-operations in these care networks. more |
| Second PACITA conference: The Call for Sessions is open [19.02.2014] The European TA Conference within the EU-Project "Parliaments and Civil Society in TA" will take place in Berlin, 25-27 February 2015. Session concepts should be submitted until 28th of March 2014. more |
| District Future in Karlsruhe enters the implementation phase [12.02.2014] The aim of the project is to give impetus to a long-term, cautious development process towards more sustainability for the Oststadt of Karlsruhe. The intention is to establish structures which support this development even beyond the official term of the project. more |
| TAB working report No. 156 issued [11.02.2014] The volume is entitled "Postdienste und moderne Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien" (Postal services and modern information and communication technologies). more |
 New publication: Issue of the journal of the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung on TA [05.02.2014]The issue was developed with participation of ITAS which contributed two articles. more |
| New project "Responsible Industry" has started [04.02.2014] The "Responsible Industry" project will design an Exemplar Implementation Plan of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in Industry to demonstrate how industry can work productively together with societal actors and integrate principles and methodologies of RRI into research and innovation processes. more |
 Recommendations for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in neighbourhoods published [31.01.2014]Based on the experience gained during the project CONCERTO Premium, ITAS has compiled a number of recommendations on how to reduce emissions in neighbourhoods, addressing both new and existing buildings. more |
 Special Issue of STI-Studies 1/2014 on "Social Robots and Artificial Companions" online available [23.01.2014]The issue, edited by Knud Böhle and Michaela Pfadenhauer, brings together nine original contributions, most of them from a sociological perspective. more |
