New general director: Michael Decker heads the German Museum in Munich!

New general director: Michael Decker heads the German Museum in Munich!

München, Deutschland - Michael Decker is the new general director of the German Museum in Munich. The official introduction to his new office took place on Monday and was led by Bavaria's Minister of Science Markus Blume, the President of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Thomas F. Hofmann and the Chairman of the Board of Directors Axel Cronauer. This reports tum .

Decker, who is a professor at TUM, emphasizes the outstanding role of the museum as a forum for the discussion about scientific knowledge and technologies as well as their social consequences. The German Museum is considered the world's largest museum for natural science and technology and thus represents a central point of contact for interested citizens and researchers.

an academic career

Immediately before his appointment as General Director, Decker was appointed to the Oskar-von-Miller Chair of Science Communication at TUM in spring. Previously, he worked as a professor of technology consequences at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). His academic career began with studying physics in Heidelberg, followed by a doctorate and a habilitation at the University of Freiburg. Most recently, he was active at KIT as head of computer science, economy and society.

The Technical University of Munich, where Decker works, has established itself as one of the leading research universities in recent years. It has several locations in Munich, Garching and Freising-Weihenstephan and is a member of the TU9, a network of respected German technical universities. In 2017, TUM took fourth place in the Reuters ranking of the European most innovative universities, which underlines the importance of the institution. The faculties of the main campus in Munich cover a wide range, including architecture, medicine and electrical engineering and information technology, which shows how interdisciplinary approaches are promoted.

meaning of science communication

In the role of the general director, Decker will also put the challenge of science communication in the foreground. This is crucial to familiarize society with the latest scientific knowledge and thus to master social challenges. As reports by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), citizens need relevant information on topics such as the influence of algorithms, the diet of a growing world population and protection against diseases.

The promotion of science communication is part of the coalition agreement of the Federal Government of 2021 and is supported by projects such as the transfer unit and impact unit that strengthen the dialogue between science and society. At the same time, it can be observed that science communication not only strengthens democracy, but also promotes a sharpened social discourse. Further initiatives to support science communication are the WissKomm.de as a central information portal and the WissKomm-Campus that offers online courses.