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Focus topic: Creativity and Innovation in the Academic System
Thinking Ahead – Creativity and Innovation in the Academic System
Creativity is often seen as a driving force of scientific discovery. But how much space does it really have in today’s academic system — between competitive funding structures, grant logic, and the pressure to achieve excellence? How can innovation potential be better recognized, supported, and utilized? And what does this mean for the scientists themselves?
How does creativity emerge in science — and what do researchers need in order to spark innovation? These questions were at the heart of the 2025 Day of the Scientists at the University of Marburg. The event took place in the inspiring historic setting of the Old University’s Aula and was organized by the Office for Early Career Researchers and the Marburg University Research Academy (MARA). Its aim was to bring together doctoral candidates, postdocs, and interested guests — including administrative staff and professors — to foster exchange on the conditions, perspectives, and future challenges of creative research.
After a video greeting by Vice President for Equal Opportunities and Career Development, Prof. Dr. Sabine Pankuweit, theatre maker Daniel Wetzel (of the performance collective Rimini Protokoll) opened the day’s program with an inspiring keynote. In his talk, he highlighted how scientific and artistic practices intersect — and how spaces for new ideas can emerge beyond traditional formats. He concluded his lecture with the recommendation not to try to forcecreativity, but rather to be a good host for ideas.
In the following panel discussion, Daniel Wetzel, Dr. Tillmann Rusch (physician and hospital clown), and Patricia Kuhr (managing director of the startup campus StartMiUp) discussed creative processes in research and practice — and the conditions under which they succeed or fail. A last-minute open seat on the panel was spontaneously filled by engaged participants from the audience, who contributed their own perspectives and experiences — adding lively impulses and diverse insights to the conversation. The discussion, moderated by Dr. Velia Benthin, emphasized that creativity in science requires both freedom and security — as well as the courage and confidence to make use of those freedoms.
An interactive “Creativity Experiment” concluded the day: in small teams, participants developed fictional, interdisciplinary research projects — with titles such as “What makes your garden grow? The influence of linguistic characteristics on the growth of houseplants.” The results were presented with much applause and humor.
The subsequent get-together in the evening offered an opportunity to network, exchange ideas, and celebrate the diversity of creative research.
15:00–16:00
Registration, coffee & exchange in the cloister
Get to know various support programs on creativity and innovation at the University of Marburg
With contributions from:
XSpaces – Creative, networked workspaces at UMR
Creative Space – Room for ideas
University Communications, UMR
StartMiUp – Innovation and Startup Campus of the Central Hessian Universities
MAFEX – Startup Service of the University of Marburg
CIM Hub – Creativity and Social Innovation Hub Marburg
Office for Teaching Development and Higher Education Didactics
Doctoral Representatives of UMR
Forschungscampus Mittelhessen (FCMH)
Marburg University Research Academy (MARA)
Mentoring Hessen
16:00–18:15
Keynote by Daniel Wetzel (Rimini Protokoll)
followed by a panel discussion in the Alte Aula
Panel participants:
Patricia Kuhr (Managing Director, StartMiUp)
Dr. Tillmann Rusch (Department 20)