Karlsruhe Transformation Center for Sustainability and Cultural Change

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 The goal is to build bridges together to overcome social boundaries, individual interests and outdated structures.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.


News

Logo Schule der Transformation
Schule der Transformation: Neue Lehrangebote ab Sommersemester 2025

Die Schule der Transformation ist ein gemeinsames Pilotprojekt des KAT und des Perspektivenlabors am House of Competence (HoC). Das Lehrangebot richtet sich insbesondere an Studierende des Karlsruher Instituts für Technologie (KIT), als auch an Personen, die den Wandel aktiv (mit-)gestalten wollen. Die Veranstaltungen für das kommende Sommersemester ab April 2025 sind jetzt veröffentlicht.

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Wir suchen Dich! Rechts ein freier Bürostuhl mit Wald im Hintergrund.
Stelle frei: Bundesfreiwilligendienst (BFD) ab September 2025

Das Karlsruher Transformationszentrum für Nachhaltigkeit und Kulturwandel (KAT) bietet ab 1. September 2025 eine Stelle für den Bundesfreiwilligendienst (w/m/d) an. Du hilfst uns bei der Betreuung des Zukunftsraumes in der Karlsruher Oststadt, wirkst bei Workshops, Konferenzen und Events mit und kannst zudem in unsere Projekte hineinschnuppern.

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Bunter Schriftzug, Urban Transformation, Connecting Urban Sustainability Labs.
Konferenz „Urban Transformation“ im Oktober 2025 in Karlsruhe

Die internationale Konferenz bietet Reallaboren weltweit die Möglichkeit sich und ihre Forschungsansätze zu präsentieren, sich zu vernetzen und voneinander zu lernen. Das KAT ist bei der Konzeption und Durchführung der Konferenz wesentlich beteiligt. Abstracts können bis 3. März eingereicht werden.

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Events

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Insights and outlooks

Real-world labs make you fit for the future

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.

Mitmachen Quartier Zukunft
Sustainability to join in

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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Reallabor Video
What is a real-world lab?

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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Podcast Forschung ohne Kittel
Real stories from real-world lab research

How do you do research in a real-world lab? The podcast "Labor Zukunft - Forschung ohne Kittel" (Future Lab - Research without a Coat) provides insights into the research work of a real-world lab. Using practical examples and real projects, the podcast illustrates how easy it is to work for a sustainable future (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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