Cultural Collisions
The interdisciplinary art and science education program “Cultural Collisions” is aimed at schools and their teachers. It serves to raise awareness of the challenges posed by climate change, on the one hand, and the possibilities for adaptation through creative and/or technical solutions, on the other. At this intersection of science and art, children ages 12 to 14 learn about the various aspects of climate change and explore tools and measures that can help address these changes. Through exhibitions and workshops, the children approach complex topics in a creative and playful way.
In addition to unusual artistic and scientific perspectives, students also have the opportunity to get to know the Vienna University of Technology and its top-tier partner institutions, such as the University of Applied Arts, the mumok Museum, and the Vienna Technical Museum.
The diversity of technology and the associated career paths—which are constantly changing at a rapid pace—are often difficult for young people to grasp; outdated role models and persistent stereotypes still deter young women. Through its creative approach, Cultural Collisions offers a new way to directly experience the perspective of a “technical career.” By inspiring students early on to consider future academic paths, the project also highlights career options to help address the shortage of young talent in STEM fields.
Goals
Society faces the following challenges:
- shortage of young people in STEM professions
- Outdated role models and stereotypes
- low number of female students in technical and scientific studies
We counteract these with the Cultural Collisions project by inspiring students to study STEM subjects and motivating them to break through stereotypes. In this way, we improve the image of technical professions and master the challenges of the future with suitable skilled personnel. The artistic and creative engagement with scientific topics creates interdisciplinary competences that are urgently needed in almost all fields in the 21st century.
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Cultural Collisions!
Focus on climate change
The content focuses on climate change, its challenges, technical solutions and creative ways of adapting.
The main topics of the previous cycles were as follows:
- Cities/buildings (2022/23)
- Energy (2023/24)
- Mobility (2024/25)
- Circular Economy (2025/26)
The focus topic for the 2026/27 cycle is technology.
Sponsors and donors
We would like to thank our sponsors and donors who make such a project possible.
In-Kind Sponsors
We would like to thank the sponsors who are providing in-kind contributions for the project.
Initiator Michael Hoch
Michael Hoch, born in Vienna, created several art objects while studying at the Vienna University of Technology and the University of Vienna. After completing his doctorate, he worked at CERN and for the Austrian Academy of Sciences, while continuing to pursue his artistic endeavours.
Over the past 10 years, Hoch has initiated, planned and/or led numerous international science communication projects. In 2017, he received the ‘Science Communication’ award from the EPH European Physical Society for his specialisation in ‘creating an interdisciplinary science and art dialogue based on global networking of experts’. In recent years, he has implemented educational projects in various countries, which have received multiple international recognition and awards.
Cooperation partners
The Universität für angewandte Kunst, opens an external URL in a new window enriches the project with an artistic and creative perspective and completes the skills required for the implementation of the inspirational exhibition.
With the mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, opens an external URL in a new window and the Technisches Museum Wien, opens an external URL in a new window, we have experts in art and cultural education with many years of experience on board.
Future Learning Lab Vienna supports the teachers in the Cultural Collisions project through training and further education in the laboratories of the Competence Centre for Learning Technology and Innovation at the Pädagogische Hochschule Wien, opens an external URL in a new window.
We accompany the projects by developing didactic scenarios together with the participating teachers within the framework of our in-service training events, which enable a deepening and broadening of the students' project work in line with the curriculums in everyday school life.
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