Transformation Forum in Halle: Cities and universities are breaking new ground!

Transformation Forum in Halle: Cities and universities are breaking new ground!

An exciting event for all actors who want to promote cooperation between cities and universities is in the starting blocks: The University City Transformation Forum will take place in Halle (Saale) on May 5, 2026. Loud idw online This forum is aimed at improving existing cooperation between municipalities and universities, particularly in the areas of climate adaptation, digitalization, mobility and social integration.

In order to better deal with the challenges that lie ahead of us, the forum is looking for committed colleagues from all areas: universities, municipalities, regional administrations, business, politics and civil society. The organizers, including the Stifterverband and the German Association of Cities, have set themselves the goal of increasing the visibility, effectiveness and sustainability of such collaborations.

A look at the topics

The event will address questions such as the transformation of selective collaborations into sustainable structures and the strategic strengthening of synergies between universities and cities. The interactive formats on offer are particularly exciting. For example, co-creation spaces can be used for workshops, and there will be space for dialogue formats such as panels or fishbowls. A poster exhibition is also planned in which projects and concepts can be presented. The submission deadline for these formats is March 27, 2026, while ideas for the forum can be submitted until December 13, 2025.

The University City Transformation Forum also takes international perspectives into account. Insights from cities like Amsterdam, where the Chief Science Officer links local knowledge with the city's challenges, or Italy's Reggio Emilia, which has established a City Science Office to support public administration, show how diverse the approaches to collaboration are. These examples could be inspiring to further develop dynamic concepts for the German-speaking region, such as sessionize highlights.

A step into the future

The University Transformation Laboratory plays an important role in this process. Donors' Association reports on nine universities and their regional partners that were selected in the first call for proposals for the 2023/24 program. This also includes the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, which, together with the city of Halle an der Saale, has already held a joint vision workshop to develop relevant fields of action. Christine Fürst, Vice Rector of MLU, and Sabine Odparlik from the city of Halle spoke about the promising synergies between the city and the university.

The University City Transformation Forum therefore offers an excellent platform to promote dialogue between different actors and to develop innovative solutions for current challenges. If you want to get actively involved, you should mark the deadlines well in your calendar and become part of this future-oriented process!