In our introductory session, you will:

• meet our team
• get an overview of our course and lecture structure
• try out our Engagement Lab
• and have the space to ask any questions you may have

In his lecture “AI: World Maps, Intelligence and Parrots” Michael explains how today’s AI systems inhabit the space between genuine intelligence and sophisticated statistical parrots. Since many of the half-truths surrounding AI contain a kernel of truth, it’s essential to grasp the real challenges that accompany its growing use. His talk ranges from model architecture to energy demands, and from safety to cost. Nevertheless, the lecture is highly accessible to non-technical audiences, and gives a sharp and balanced view of what AI is—and what it isn’t.

Michael Schmidt first studied Business Administration but soon found himself captivated by the world of IT. His journey led him along the path from Excel Nerd → Data Analyst → Data Engineer → Data Scientist → AI Developer. He has given several lectures on Data Visualization and Artificial Intelligence, created LinkedIn courses on both Data Visualization and Virtual Reality, and is currently exploring the field of knowledge graphs. Michael also serves as Finance Admin and part-time IT Admin of TheSafeZone e.V., a charity he co-founded. A passionate reader with wide-ranging interests, he enjoys playing video games whenever time allows.

The quality of our minds determines the quality of our lives, both present and future. How we feel shapes how we live, and how we treat the world around us. In the face of environmental and societal challenges, our mental well-being is more than personal; it’s a cornerstone of sustainable living. In this session, we will explore how conscious breathing can support mental resilience, focus, happiness, and overall wellbeing; essential tools for navigating an uncertain future. You will be introduced to evidence-based breathing practices rooted in the ancient wisdom of yoga, including an introduction to the renowned Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a breathing technique scientifically shown to reduce stress and anxiety while enhancing mindfulness, connection, and clarity. Through short, practical exercises and reflection, we’ll explore how personal well-being and planetary sustainability are deeply connected. We also experience how and why cultivating inner calm is a powerful step toward creating a more conscious and compassionate world.

The talk will be followed by an open Q&A and a 30-minute interactive session where we invite you to reflect, participate, and help shape what sustainability means for our future, starting from within.

Prof. Dr. Mrinalini (Nalini) Kochupillai is full Professor of Sustainability and Business Law at the Hanken School of Economics. She is also an adjunct faculty at the Vetmeduni University, Vienna and was a guest professor of ethics at TU Munich from 2020-2024. She is also a certified practitioner and trainer for the Art of Living Happiness Program and the SKY Campus Happiness Program which teach the evidence-based SKY Breath Meditation. In addition to researching legal and ethical issues in emerging technologies, her current research seeks to understand whether and how stress management techniques can support ethical decision-making.

Shared Session with the Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences

Hörsaal „Roter Würfel“ Raum R 1.046 (Lothstr. 64)
Zoom-Meeting: Meeting-ID: 947 3715 4657, Password: 631726

The Lectures for Future is a public lecture series at Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences, held every semester in a hybrid format. Moderated by Prof. Dr. Christian Holler and Prof. Dr. Heinz P. Huber, it brings together researchers from Munich’s universities to explore climate change, environmental protection, and sustainability from diverse interdisciplinary perspectives.

Conservation technology describes utilizing technology for wildlife conservation and is a field that has found rapid growth in the twenty-first century. A challenge in conservation technology is as the field itself is a collaboration between biologists, engineers, and computer scientists it has a high barrier-to-entry and often students do not get introduced until graduate school or later. Over the last several years we have worked to change this through creation of a project-based course on zoo-academic collaborations. This course works to create interdisciplinary teams that can develop conservation technology with wildlife conservation partners including zoos, wildlife facilities, and more. This course’s projects are made successful through a longstanding collaborations both in the United States and Germany allowing  students to create technology that can help provide enrichment to diverse species while giving undergraduate students exposure to conservation technology. In this talk I will give an overview of research projects that utilize bio-inspired robotics, conservation tools, and conservation technology to help wildlife conservation. I will show showcase some of the specific technology created by students including an open-source wildlife tracker for bald eagle monitoring, a machine-learning enabled rabies vaccine distributor, and an automated feeder for western lowland gorillas.

Andrew K. Schulz is an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow and postdoctoral researcher in the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, and is an Associated Postdoc in the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems (IMPRS-IS). He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in 2022. Schulz’s graduate thesis work in the Hu Laboratory for Biolocomotion focused on biomechanics across length scales in the elephant’s trunk with applications in robotics, health, and sustainability. As a postdoctoral researcher, Schulz leverages functionally intelligent biological composites for haptics, biomechanics, and robotics applications. His work takes inspiration from different animal systems and combines engineering and material science and interdisciplinary collaborations with biologists, local zoos, and natural history museums to investigate comparative haptics. Schulz’s engineering work is featured in the American Museum of Natural History and has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, and Science Friday. As an autistic researcher, Schulz has worked to advocate for neurodivergent and autism accessibility in research and beyond.

Currently, human consumption surpasses the planet’s capacity to sustainably support health and maintain biodiverse ecological systems. The two major challenges to be met for preserving a healthy human life on a healthy planet are sustainable generation und use of energy and food. My lecture will focus on the critical need for a sustainable food system, a cornerstone in building a viable and healthy future for both humanity and the planet.

As we navigate the Anthropocene, humanity faces enormous environmental challenges. Our increasing population, which stands at 8 billion today and is projected to reach 10 billion by the end of this century, places significant stress on land, water and biodiversity and contributes to the acceleration of climate change. These issues call for an overhaul and upgrade of our food and healthcare system, to render both more resilient. Fortunately, we are armed with an unprecedented array of knowledge, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative tools. The converging revolutions in biotechnology and information science present substantial opportunities.

Nutrition occupies a pivotal role at the intersection of human health, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. It encompasses the management of global food supplies to meet population demands sustainably, the advancement of personalized and precision nutrition to optimize individual health outcomes, and the exploration of bioactive compounds in natural food sources. The objectives of modern nutritional science are to support human health and wellbeing, contribute to disease prevention, and extend the health span concomitant with increasing life expectancies. Concurrently, nutrition must be practiced with an acute awareness of sustainable resource utilization, aiming to mitigate lasting detrimental effects on the environment and climate.

To meet these seemingly overwhelming and partly competing challenges of our era, nutrition science is progressing toward a systems-based, translational approach. This (r)evolution requires the development of sustainable food systems, a healthcare system that balances efficiency with affordability, and the creation of nutritional and dietary plans customized for diverse consumer and patient needs and demographics. Achieving a sustainable food system necessitates a greater reliance on plant-based sources for essential macro- and micronutrients as well as phytochemicals. An efficient and cost-effective healthcare system should integrate comprehensive nutritional strategies – encompassing general, medical, and clinical nutrition – to augment and complement the traditional pharmaceutical interventions. Personalized nutrition, moreover, depends on translational research that incorporates detailed phenotyping of participants to ensure the representation of various population segments.

Under this scope and context, I will review a collection of (partly own) scientific work that addresses the interconnected streams of sustainable nutrition and healthcare, as well as the advancement of nutrition as a translational science. These contributions utilize systems biology and data science to elucidate intricate physiological processes, thereby reinforcing the conceptual framework of nutrition as a systems science. My talk will include studies that utilize omics technologies, artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics to identify and validate plant-based sources for high-quality proteins, micronutrients, and bioactive compounds. Additionally, this body of work highlights how integrating indigenous knowledge with contemporary scientific approaches can offer innovative solutions to current food system challenges.

Martin is Head of Science at the Competence Center for Nutrition (KErn). KErn is an institute within the Bavarian Research Organisation for Agriculture (LfL) and facilitates integrated solutions for a healthier and more sustainable food system in Bavaria, Germany, a federal state with 13 M inhabitants. Martin is also CEO and Founder of Kussmann Biotech GmbH, a biotechnology consulting firm in the fields of health, nutrition, and sustainability. Through this function, he is SAB Chair for NemaLife Inc. TX, USA; and GreenBioPeptides S.A. Barcelona, Spain, two tech-bio companies in the bioactive space for nutra-, pharma- and cosmeceuticals. Trained as a biochemist Martin has accomplished a 30-years dual corporate/academic career with experience in nutrition, pharma, and biotechnology. He held professorships at EPF Lausanne, Switzerland; Aarhus University, Denmark; and Auckland University, New Zealand. Martin has (co-)created four research units, scientifically led three institutions, and is credited with ~200 publications.

The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus approach is an innovative interdisciplinary area for research and teaching that is underleveraged in research, in practice, and in an academic setting, despite harbouring huge potentials to tackle key climate change issues. This talk explores potential opportunities for climate action and how these can be operationalised in research, practice and in teaching.

Dr. Daphne Gondhalekar is a research scientist at the Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich, Germany, where she heads the TUM Nexus Lab Nexus@TUM. Her research focus is integrated urban and regional planning using a Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus approach and multi-stakeholder participatory co-creation processes in Africa and Asia. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Studies from The University of Tokyo, and a Masters and Bachelor in Architecture and Urban Planning, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and University of Glasgow respectively. Prior to joining TUM, she worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, and Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany. 

Shared Session with TUM Center for Culture and Arts

We are excited to invite you to the lecture Nature 2.0: Art, Algorithms, and the Mutations of the Living, followed by a Q&A session with the artist.

For over four decades, Miguel Chevalier has been exploring both the visible and invisible dimensions of life through the lens of digital technology. In this lecture, the artist reflects on his career and presents the main themes of his ongoing research into a reprogrammed nature — one reinvented through algorithms, data flows, and generative aesthetics. Through emblematic series such as Fractal Flowers, Digital Abysses, and Meta-Nature AI, Chevalier questions our relationship with living systems in the age of artificial intelligence, simulation, and co-creation with machines. Algorithms become poetic tools capable of generating new forms, imaginary ecosystems, and hybrid species — at the crossroads of the real and the virtual. Yet Chevalier’s work does not remain confined to the immaterial realm of the digital. He embraces a post-virtual approach, in which algorithmically generated worlds of code and light take on tangible form as sculptures, engravings, 3D prints, holograms, or site-specific installations. Beginning in the virtual, he returns to the real — not to reproduce it, but to reveal its complexity, beauty, and fragility through new lenses. His work is in constant metamorphosis, at the intersection of science, art, and contemplation.

Important Details:

• Start: 11:00 AM
• Duration: about 1.5h
• Location: Audimax der HFF München, Bernd-Eichinger-Platz 1

The TUM Center for Culture and Arts offers a diverse cultural programme for the university community, spanning music, literature, fine arts, performing arts, and digital arts. Open to all members of the TUM community and friends of TUM, its wide-ranging activities encourage the discovery of hidden talents, broaden horizons, and foster exchange across disciplines.

Climate change poses an escalating global challenge, as recent floods in Libya, Brazil, and Spain have tragically demonstrated the dangerous situation we live in, especially with the increasing frequency of such incidents. The transport sector, responsible for nearly a quarter of global Greenhouse gas emissions, remains a major contributor to urban air pollution and climate impacts. Technological and shared mobility solutions such as ride-hailing and carpooling are frequently promoted as sustainable alternatives and endorsed by the EU’s Urban Mobility Framework. Yet, many of these claims lack empirical validation or transparent evaluation,raising concerns of Greenwashing—the dissemination of misleading or exaggerated environmental claims.

Investigating greenwashing in the transport sector, aiming to identify its dimensions, behavioral implications, and potential mitigation strategies, is becoming a must. In this lecture, we will discuss the different dimensions of Greenwashing, and we will try to understand how we could stop it together.

Dr. Abouelela is a civil and transportation engineer with over 19 years of experience in the transportation industry. He is a lecturer and head of the Transportation Data Analytics research group, in the chair of Transportation Systems Engineering, specializing in Transportation Systems Engineering and technology-based mobility. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Ain Shams University, Egypt, and both a Master of Science and a PhD in Transportation Systems from the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

His research focuses on applying advanced data analytics to understand, model, and improve transportation systems. Combining a strong foundation in transportation planning and infrastructure design with expertise in data-driven modeling.

How can we make our city more sustainable – and what role do we ourselves play in the process? In our Urban Walking workshop, we explore this question – quite literally. 

Using the method of mindful walking, we explore the urban space in Maxvorstadt, observe city structures, and gather impressions that open up new perspectives on sustainability topics. Every street, square, and encounter becomes a learning space: we see how resources are used, where potential for change lies, and which social, ecological, and economic dynamics shape the city. 

Here’s how it works: 

• You move consciously through Maxvorstadt.
• Playful tasks and small “assignments” direct your attention to the environment, infrastructure, and social interactions.
• Through observation, reflection, and discussion, you develop new insights and ideas for sustainable urban design. 

Whether you are a student, urban planner, artist, or simply curious, this workshop offers the opportunity to explore urban sustainability in a practical, creative, and experiential way. 

The game can be downloaded anytime [link to be provided] until November 30, 2025, or picked up from the RiVo team after the lecture on Wednesday, November 19 and 26. Please complete the game before December 3, 2025, so we can discuss it in the lecture. 

Come by, head out into the city, and discover how every step can lead to a more conscious way of interacting with our city and environment! 

Karl Michael Lange is a Dipl.-Ing. in Urban and Regional Planning and IHK-certified Transformation Manager for Sustainable Culture. Lange leads a studio for creative strategies in sustainable thinking and action and is chair of the associations Produktionskollektiv Wien and Region Stuttgart. 

He has worked as a project manager for creative sustainability and the energy transition at Theater RAMPE in Stuttgart and is active across Europe as an expert in artistically motivated sustainability projects. 

Currently, Lange teaches at the Freie Kunstakademie Nürtingen (FKN_Lab for Art and Sustainability), Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart (ZNS – Sensory Lab), and New Design University St. Pölten (Food Design, Food System Design, Food Activism). He is also an adjunct lecturer in Human Intelligence at Green University Pécs and in Art, Sustainability, and Entrepreneurship at UnaVersity Ecovillage Herzersberg/Küstrin. He supports Chinese youth in developing sustainable products and business models in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Beijing and the Mercator Foundation’s China Education Network. 

In 2024, he co-founded the Vienna School of Art and Sustainability in cooperation with SOHO Ottakring and, together with Laura Cadio, the platform communi:greens for educational projects on sustainable thinking and action. He also collaborates with Anna Szilágyi-Nagy and Lisa Sperrling-Dossa under the label circular.community in Stuttgart, offering strategies for creative sustainability and consulting for collectives, companies, institutions, and municipalities. 

Upcoming projects include artistic sustainability installations at Klima Biennale Vienna and Alte Feuerwache Mannheim in 2026, and at the International Garden Exhibition (IGA Ruhr) in 2027.

The acceleration of AI development, as well as the deepening of its centrality in geopolitics, have led to an international rush to achieve what many have called “sovereignty” in the digital realm. Policies aiming to promote digital sovereignty, nevertheless, do not treat the interests of all communities equally, and the way in which some groups are impacted by digital technologies varies according to criteria such as race, class and origin, revealing updated dynamics of coloniality. This presentation thus discusses how the digital ecosystem impacts Indigenous Peoples in Brazil from three distinguished angles: data extractivism, occupation of territory and exploitation of resources. The goal is to identify how existing digital policy frameworks reproduce or challenge colonial power relations.

José Renato Laranjeira de Pereira is a PhD Researcher at the University of Bonn’s Sustainable AI Lab investigating the digital industry’s impacts on Indigenous territories in Brazil. He is also a co-founder of the Brazilian NGO Laboratory of Public Policy and Internet – LAPIN, and a Full Member of the Brazilian Federal Administration’s Central Committee on Data Governance. Previously, José Renato was a UNESCO consultant for the 2024 Brazilian Presidency of the G20 within the Digital Economy Working Group. In 2021, he was awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung’s German Chancellor Fellowship to conduct research on the AI Act as a Visiting Researcher at the European Parliament. He was also a member of the multistakeholder groups that reviewed the Brazilian AI Strategy.

As public awareness for the environmental and social impact of AI technologies grows, questions about the appropriate measurement and assessment of these impacts abound. Conceived as a contribution to this discussion, this talk presents insights into the current landscape of the AI ethics field, with special consideration for discussions about “sustainable AI”. It asks what kind of approach, perspective and concepts are necessary to properly assess the sustainability impact of AI technologies. In answering this question, it maps a shift which can currently be perceived in AI ethics literature: From impact analyses of concrete AI technologies (algorithms, hardware, etc.) to a structural approach which uncovers ethical issues on a broader scale. Crucially, this shift of perspective also brings in, or rather uncovers, a political dimension to these discussions.

Larissa Bolte is a research associate and PhD candidate within the Bonn Sustainable AI Lab of the Institute for Science and Ethics at the University of Bonn, Germany. She holds an MA degree in philosophy and has published in a variety of peer-reviewed venues on AI and sustainability, AI and critical theory as well as philosophy of technology and extractivism. Larissa’s PhD project links these research interests by investigating the notion of “sustainable technology” through the lens of Frankfurt School critical theory, specifically Adorno’s notion of “natural history”.

TBA

TBA

TBA