Summer School 2026

Friday, 31 July: Children’s university − paediatric surgery
11.00am, in the O Building, Room 0.10 – Prof. Dr. Constanze Kiese
For everyone aged 10 and over

First aid by and for children and young people; how to prevent accidents and poisoning. Children are fascinating. They learn and understand faster than adults, grow more, move their eyes much more lively around their surroundings and have a far greater urge to experiment – definitely more than their parents. Sometimes things go more or less badly wrong. And what do you do then with a broken tooth? Put it in milk? Disinfect it? When treating a burn, who's right − does sugar, olive oil or toothpaste help? Which animal lets go of your arm if you hit it − a shark or a constrictor snake? A warm welcome to a little tour through everyday mishaps and curiosities.

Friday, 31 July: Mould as a lifesaver? Microbe of the year Penicillium
2.00pm, in the O Building, Room 0.10 – Prof. Dr. Markus Egert
For everyone aged 10 and over

It looks ugly, tastes good and has already saved millions of lives. For this it not only won the Nobel Prize, it was also chosen as Microbe of the Year – the mould Penicillium. But is this really deserved? In his easy-to-understand talk, HFU Professor Dr Markus Egert will explain and introduce this unattractive but endearing champion in more detail.

Tuesday, 4 August: When hormones go haywire: menstruation, menopause & women’s health
5.00pm, in the O Building, Room 0.10 – Prof. Dr. Kirsten Steinhausen and Prof. Ulrike Lindwedel
Hormonal changes play a major role in women’s lives. Both menstruation and the menopause are still widely regarded as taboo topics. Prof. Ulrike Lindwedel and Prof. Dr. Kirsten Steinhausen provide an overview and offer guidance on how to cope well with the associated upheavals.

Wednesday, 26 August: Writing – but how? One experiment, written 15 different ways
5.00pm, in the O Building, Room 0.10 – Dr. Angela Magin
For everyone aged 10 and over

How does a text actually come into being? And how do texts with the same content differ depending on where they appear and who reads them? We will explore these questions by looking at a perfectly ordinary experiment from a cell biology lab and describing it in a wide range of text types and genres − How does it sound in a scientific publication, and how in a children’s book? On social media or in an advertising text? Or even in a thriller?

Thursday, 3 September: Fire & ice
11.00am, in the G Building, Room 0.08 – Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kirchner and Prof. Dr.‑ing Christian Krause
For everyone aged 10 and over

Prof. Dr.-Ing Christian Krause and Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kirchner present spectacular experiments ranging from -196°C to over 1,000°C in their experimental show “Fire and ice”. Deep-cold liquid air plays just as important a role as a simple candle flame. The show answers questions such as how a rose reacts to extremely low temperatures, how to behave correctly in the event of a fire in a building, and why a water-filled balloon does not burn.

Wednesday, 5 August: Space Day 1 – Exoplanets
10.00am - 12.00 noon, E Building, Room 0.02 – Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kirchner
For everyone aged 10 and over

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kirchner gives an overview of the current state of research on exoplanets – planets beyond our own solar system – in his lecture “On the discovery and exploration of exoplanets”. He explains, for example, the different methods by which more than 7,000 such celestial bodies have been discovered over the past 30 years. Astronomers are now even able to study the atmospheres of these distant worlds. Could this perhaps even provide a clue to extraterrestrial life?

Wednesday, 5 August: Space Day 2 – Cosmic chemistry
2.00 - 3.30pm, E Building, Room 0.02 – Prof. Dr. Magnus Schmidt
For everyone aged 10 and over

What is our universe made of at the most elementary level? What does “outgassing” mean? And what are asteroids composed of? Prof. Dr. Magnus Schmidt goes in search of the tiniest particles in the vast universe – and maybe even of extraterrestrial life …

Monday, 24 August: How genetic engineering helps in the fight against microplastics
10.00am, E Building, Room 0.02 – Prof. Dr. Ulrike Salat
For everyone aged 10 and over

What has genetic engineering got to do with environmental protection? A lot! In future, plastics that pollute all our habitats could potentially be removed from the environment using genetically engineered enzymes, or prevented from entering the environment in the first place through detection methods. Prof. Dr. Ulrike Salat gives you an introduction to everything you need to know about genes.

Wednesday, 26 August: People and their devices
10.00am, H Building, Room 0.x – Prof. Dr. Mike Fornefett
For everyone aged 10 and over

Since the dawn of human history we have been surrounded by devices – and we have created them ourselves. With technical curiosity, powers of observation and creativity, humans have developed tools, instruments and machines to shape their environment, solve problems and open up new possibilities.

This talk explores the astonishing variety of devices that have emerged over time – from the earliest simple tools to highly advanced technical systems. How do devices work, which principles lie behind them, and how have design and areas of application changed over the centuries?

Whether everyday objects such as cutlery, household appliances like washing machines or vacuum cleaners, construction and transport equipment, medical apparatus or communication and sports technologies – we look at devices as solutions to very concrete challenges in life. We also show, using selected examples, how individual devices in their technical forms and developments bear impressive witness to human engineering creativity. Less obvious devices – such as religious instruments or those used for leisure – are also included. They reveal that technology is not only practical, but also culturally deeply interwoven with our existence.

Friday, 28 August: The university library today – Printed knowledge meets the digital world and AI
10.00 - 11.00am, H Building, Room 0.x – Friederike Broß with the library team
For pupils in upper secondary and final-year classes, and interested adults

The university library as a modern place of learning − in a short talk we will present our range of media – from printed books and e-media through to AI-supported research tools. You will discover how print and online media complement each other and how AI can help you find information more quickly and understand it better. Afterwards you will explore the library on site, carry out your own searches and try out our services.

Wednesday, 9 September: From 1001 Nights to 1001 brilliant ideas – How the Orient shapes our lives
4.00pm, H Building, Room 0.x – Dr. Jawad Slieh
For everyone aged 10 and over

When we think of scientists or inventors, names like Galileo, Newton or Edison often spring to mind. But did you know that many of the technologies and ideas that shape our everyday lives have their origins in the Orient?

From medical discoveries and revolutionary mathematical concepts to brilliant inventions in architecture, astronomy and engineering − over many centuries, the Orient has preserved knowledge, developed it further and passed it on to the Western world.

In this Summer School lecture you will embark on a fascinating journey through the history of these achievements and discover inventions from the Orient that still accompany us today, have transformed the world and are deeply rooted in our lives. Together, we will immerse ourselves in a world full of ingenuity, innovation and cultural exchange.

Thursday, 10 September: Blue-light & superpowers – Create your own comic or poster
1.00 - 2.30pm, A 2.04 – Prof. Dr. Marion Meinert and Dr. Manuela Rösch
For children and young people aged 8 and over

Disasters are a manageable topic – but what do they look like in your imagination? In this creative workshop it’s your turn to take the lead! Whether blackout, flooding or major fire – design your own comic or poster about a disaster situation. Maybe you’ve already heard about such events or even experienced something yourself? Together we will consider what dangers exist, how we can protect ourselves and how heroines and heroes might appear in your story. Your imagination has no limits!

Thursday, 10 September: Civil protection, disaster management and European cooperation – an overview
4.30 - 6.00pm, A 2.04 – Prof. Dr. Marion Meinert and Dr. Manuela Rösch
For adults

How does civil protection work in Germany and what does this mean in concrete terms for citizens? This talk explains the basics of civil and disaster protection− who is responsible in an emergency, how do the federal government, the federal states and the municipalities work together, and how have these structures developed over time? A particular focus is on new risks and scenarios that shape civil protection today – including extreme weather events, prolonged power outages, pandemics, cyberattacks and hybrid threats in the context of international crises. Building on this, the talk explores the tasks and limits of governmental preparedness, as well as the personal responsibility of the population; what does the state provide, what should individuals prepare themselves, and why is resilience a shared responsibility? The European civil protection mechanism (Union Civil Protection Mechanism – UCPM) will also be introduced, showing how states support one another, what assistance is possible in the event of a disaster, and what role European cooperation will play in future. The aim is to make security tangible and to provide guidance for real emergency situations.