Science communication and climate education

The Department of Geography and the Faculty of Geosciences are unique research locations in Germany and internationally for the central topics of sustainable development and climate change research. Social and natural science perspectives are combined here, creating results that are relevant to various audiences. How can these be communicated in such a way that they create a fundamental understanding of problems and possible solutions—and have a real impact? Anchored in the research field of "science communication," we focus on traditional media as well as dialogue- and participation-oriented formats and formats for education for sustainable development (ESD). One focus is on solution-oriented communication and the question of how communication can contribute to sustainable development.

Research into science communication plays a prominent and responsible role in this context. In recent years, this field has become a separate area of research (“science of science communication”) both nationally and internationally. However, there has been little systematic integration into geographical research throughout Germany and vice versa. The central research interest of this field of work is to close this gap and to expand the topics of science communication and climate education as central and important cross-cutting themes of the natural and social sciences in geography.

Prof. Dr. Imke Hoppe was appointed to the department's newly created professorship in “Science Communication and Climate Education” in April 2023 and is part of the WISNA-Tenure-Track Programms (BMBF).