Symposium and Exhibition “Engineering Together – Towards Responsible Transformation” – October 30-31, 2025
In summer 2025, the TUM School of Engineering and Design (ED) piloted a series of experimental teaching formats exploring the social role and responsibility of engineers in transformation processes.
Three interdisciplinary summer schools approached transformation from different perspectives – belonging, working environments, and built structures – combining design, research, and real-world experimentation.
The resulting projects and insights will be presented at the Symposium and Exhibition “Engineering Together – Towards Responsible Transformation” at Pavillon 333 in Munich. The event brings together students, researchers, and the broader public to discuss transformation as a shared effort between society, technology, and culture. Through presentations, dialogue formats, and an accompanying exhibition, the symposium invites visitors to experience how engineering can contribute to more responsible and human-centered futures.
Program – Symposium – October 30
16:00 Welcome – Anna-Maria Mayerhofer & Sebastian Klawiter
01 – 16:15 Lecture & Discussion – Kim Dabbs (Steelcase)
02 – 16:45 Dialogue on Working Environments – Robert Martinez von Bülow (BMW Group), Dr. Sascha Wischniewski (BauA), Prof. Dr. Klaus Bengler (TUM LfE), Nicole Fritsch (Student Representative HFE); Moderation: Dr. Lorenz Prasch (proband15 GmbH)
03 – 17:15 Impulse Talks – Christine von Raven (Transsolar / Agency Apéro), Hanna Noller (TU Braunschweig – Space Between People)
18:00 Transformation Cabinet of Curiosities – Exhibition (October 30–31)
18:30 Closing and Drinks
Participating Departments & Topics
01 Transformation & Belonging
Chair of Design and Transdisciplinarity – Prof. Annette Diefenthaler – DAT Summer School
Co-designed and co-led by internationally acclaimed author Kim Dabbs, this summer school explored how to cultivate environments where everyone belongs. During a three-day retreat at TUM’s Research Station in the Berchtesgaden Alps, students engaged in personal reflection, collaborative dialogue, and applied design practice. Curated meals and shared rituals provided a lived experience of belonging, which participants then translated into prototypes fostering inclusion. These outcomes will be showcased at the symposium.
02 Transformation & Working Environments
Chair of Ergonomics – Prof. Dr. Klaus Bengler – Interdisciplinary Project X
Focusing on Seamless Work–Life Integration, this interdisciplinary project examined how technology can support healthy boundaries and smooth transitions between work and personal life. Teams developed and refined ideas across four phases—Exploration, Ideation, Prototyping, and Evaluation—addressing topics such as commuting, handovers in teaching, and stress relief in healthcare. The seminar was organized by Prof. Bengler with Yuchen Liu and Rutuja Joshi from the Chair of Ergonomics.
03 Transformation & Built Environments
Chair of Sustainable Urbanism – Prof. Mark Michaeli – Design Sprint XL – The Urban Transformation Lab
Under the title RiesenChancen für die Stadt (“Giant Opportunities for the City”), this format explored the reuse and transformation of large-scale urban structures. Organized by Sebastian Klawiter and Anna-Maria Mayerhofer, in cooperation with the Chair of Architecture and Construction (Prof. Jeannette Kuo) and supported by practitioners from the field, participants developed over 1,001 reuse scenarios for eleven XL structures. Morning lectures by Prof. Nanni Grau, Prof. Dorothee Rummel, and Kristina Maria Möhring provided theoretical framing, while a final plenary session enabled open discussion of the results.
When:
October 30, 2025
16:00 - 20:00
Exhibition: October 30-31
Where:
Pavillon 333
Türkenstraße 15
80333 Munich