The Karlsruhe Transformation Center for Sustainability and Cultural Change (KAT) combines research, education, consulting and process support. It designs, researches and accompanies your development towards a culture of sustainability. The goal is to build bridges together to overcome social boundaries, individual interests and outdated structures.
Leaving the old behind and daring the new, for a future worth living in.
Building on the experience, expertise and structures of the real-world lab Quartier Zukunft - Labor Stadt (District Future - Urban Lab) launched in 2012, the Karlsruhe Transformation Center is one of the first of its kind in the world. It operates at the interface of science and society and participatively develops and communicates knowledge and expertise for social change. The Karlsruhe Transformation Center operates a real-world lab as well as various research and transformation projects. In addition, it advises municipalities, companies and organizations and accompanies them into a sustainable future. The institutional background of the KAT is the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
You can find out more about the KAT in the brochure or here as a short-description.
Wie kann Nachhaltigkeit an Hochschulen vom Extra zum Normal werden? In dieser Folge geben Susanne Ober (KAT) und Thomas Potthast (Uni Tübingen) Einblicke in das Verbundprojekt KuNaH und sie sprechen darüber, was eine Kultur der Nachhaltigkeit ausmacht. Gemeinsam gehen sie der Frage nach, warum es nicht die eine Nachhaltigkeitskultur gibt, sondern viele unterschiedliche Kulturen an und zwischen Hochschulen.
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Das Netzwerk Reallabore der Nachhaltigkeit und die TH Köln laden am 16.&17. September 2026 zur Konferenz nach Leverkusen ein. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Wirkung, Weiterentwicklung und Lernprozesse von Reallaboren in gesellschaftlichen, ökologischen und technologischen Umbruchzeiten. Konferenzbeiträge können ab sofort eingereicht werden.
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Die Klimaaktivistin, Mitorganisatorin der Fridays for Future-Bewegung und Studentin Luisa Neubauer hielt Anfang November 2025 einen Vortrag am KIT vor rund 700 Personen. Im Zentrum des Auftritts stand die Frage, was wir für einen nachhaltigen Wandel brauchen und vor allem, wie wir dafür ins Handeln kommen können.
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Insights and outlooks
The Karlsruhe Transformation Center runs the real-world lab "District Future" in Karlsruhe's Oststadt district. Together with the residents, District Future wants to try out the good and sustainable life of today and tomorrow. The aim is not to rebuild the existing neighbourhood on a large scale, but to carefully transform it in collaboration with citizens, academia, politics and the private sector.
The Karlsruhe Transformation Centre is also home to other research and real-world laboratory projects in the field of sustainable development. They deal with topics such as climate-friendly nutrition, sustainable construction and car-free cities.
The "Quartier Zukunft - Labor Stadt" is a real-world lab in Karlsruhe's Oststadt district. As a contact point for the population, for politics and science, it investigates the question: How can we live well in the city today and tomorrow, while taking care of our fellow human beings, the environment and posterity?
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A real-world lab is a transdisciplinary research and development facility. Science and society work together on sustainable solutions. This video from "Quartier Zukunft" shows exactly how to move from knowledge to action (in German).
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Contact
Do you have any questions? Contact us, we will be happy to advise you.
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