Three University-Based Micro-Projects Spur on Capital of Culture Application

From new reading locations to autonomous vehicles and innovative dialogue formats: City of Chemnitz promotes creative ideas from Chemnitz University of Technology - "The Flying Armchair" also lands at the Virtual TUCdays

Chemnitz wants to become European Capital of Culture 2025. The application process has been supported by a micro-project funding programme since 2017. In what is now the sixth round of funding, 50 creative ideas from the city society were presented to the jury, and 14 projects are now being supported with up to 3,000 euros each - including three projects from Chemnitz University of Technology:

"The Flying Armchair" for spontaneous readings

"The Flying Armchair" is an open reading stage, which was first inspired by the German Studies Department at Chemnitz University of Technology in autumn 2014. "For the landings we are looking for places that show that Chemnitz is a city that is open to new cultural ideas. We are looking for landing sites that belong to Chemnitz, that have a special atmosphere, and that are worth getting to know," reports Coretta Storz from the Institute of German Studies and Intercultural Communication (german). The mode is simple: If you would like to read a text aloud, just bring it along, take a seat on the armchair and off you go. The texts are chosen by the spontaneous readers themselves, whether it's their favourite poem, short story, or song lyrics. "The Flying Armchair" will also land at the Virtual TUCdays (Chemnitz University of Technology days) on 16 June 2020. As part of the special event programme from the Faculty of Humanities (german), everything will revolve around the theme "At Home" starting at 7 pm.

T.U.C. Racing Team and autonomous driving

The T.U.C. Racing Team, the largest student initiative at Chemnitz University of Technology with 60 members, is currently working on a new vehicle - the MKX III. This all-electric racing car is a further development of the MKX 2 racing car presented last year, with which the team competed in the international construction competition Formula Student Electric on the Hockenheim-Ring. Currently, the team is also developing an autonomously driving racing car together with five companies from the Chemnitz Automated Driving Alliance (CADA). The micro-project is intended to give this car as much of a boost as the public discussion on the subject of autonomous driving - in Chemnitz and beyond. By the way: A vehicle from the T.U.C. Racing Team can also be seen in the welcome video for the Virtual "TUCtage.

"I see it differently" - the Festival der Meinungsverschiedenheiten (festival of disagreement)

On 5 September 2020, the project organisers, including the Professorship of General Psychology and Biopsychology at Chemnitz University of Technology, C³ Chemnitzer Veranstaltungszentren GmbH and the City of Chemnitz, invite you to a public dialogue in the Stadthallenpark. At about 40 tables, four citizens at a time will have the opportunity, in a moderated,but informal and appreciative setting, to enter into conversation on those topics that currently concern them. The results will be documented, scientifically evaluated at the university and made available to the urban development of Chemnitz.

All three projects related to Chemnitz University of Technology and the eleven other micro-projects are jointly financed by Chemnitz2025 and Klub 2025, a business initiative to support the application for the Capital of Culture.

(Author: Mario Steinebach / Translation: Chelsea Burris)

Matthias Fejes
11.06.2020

All "University News" articles