Chicken à la carte: Knowledge maps for more sustainability
Together with the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, IRI THESys offered an interdisciplinary seminar which brought science and design together to creatively explore alternatives in modern food production. The seminar took place in 2016-17 and was part of the interdisciplinary study program ‘Vielfalt der Wissensformen’ which brought together Humboldt students from the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities with students of product, communication and interface design of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.
Within the seminar, the students jointly discussed the relation between human beings and farm animals and explored alternatives within the system of modern food production. Based on the regional project ‘ei care’ which focuses on dual purpose chickens, they investigated which cycles of production and distribution of food are possible, which forms of knowledge and organization are required and how different scientific and creative approaches can help when to communicate appropriately. They also developed ‘knowledge maps’ which enabled the group to deal with complex aspects of sustainability in a critical, practical and experimental way.
The course offered both insights into the research project ginkoo, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and based at IRI THESys, and the opportunity for problem-oriented and mutual learning. The results were also presented during the Long Night of Science 2017 at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
