Open Access

Hochschulübergreifende transdisziplinäre Forschungsverbünde bieten die Möglichkeit, Erfahrungen, Wissen und Kompetenzen komplementär zu bündeln und somit Synergien zu schaffen, die zur Lösung gesellschaftlicher Fragestellungen genutzt werden können. Zugleich gehen Kooperationen in dieser Konstellation mit einem höheren Aufwand einher und erfordern entsprechende Abstimmungsprozesse. Gerade in den Phasen der Planung und Antragsstellung eines solchen Forschungsverbunds sowie zu dessen Start und dem damit einhergehenden Onboarding der Verbundmitglieder und Praxispartner*innen werden signifikante Strukturen und Rahmenbedingungen für eine erfolgreiche Verbundarbeit etabliert. Ausgehend von der Fragestellung "Welche Informationen hätten sich die Projektbeteiligten bereits zu Beginn des Forschungsvorhabens gewünscht?" bündelt dieser Leitfaden die Erkenntnisse aus der Antrags- und Onboardingphase des Forschungsverbunds InNoWest, um sie Interessierten als Orientierung zur Verfügung zu stellen. Der Leitfaden richtet sich dabei besonders an Wissenschaftler*innen, Mitglieder der Hochschulleitungen und Koordinationsteams, die vergleichbare Verbundprojekte konzipieren oder die ihre Rolle in einem solchen Verbund besser verstehen und ausgestalten wollen. Aber auch kleinere inter- und transdisziplinär arbeitende Forschungsprojekte können bei der Beantragung und dem Onboarding ihrer Projekte von den hier zusammengetragenen Erfahrungen von InNoWest profitieren.

Research at higher education institutions (HEIs) is increasingly expected to address societal problems. In this context, transdisciplinary research practice is often referred to as a novel co-creative mode of research. However, collaboration with actors from outside the scientific system in transdisciplinary research projects requires specific competences. The article presents the formats for competence development in transdisciplinary research developed as part of the InNoWest joint research project, as well as the results of their formative evaluation. It outlines the potential and limitations of continuing professional development during project work, and reflects on the possibilities for the institutionalised development of transdisciplinary competences at HEIs. Drawing on the experiences of the German InNoWest joint research project, the article elucidates the ambivalence between transdisciplinary research as a mode of inquiry and the qualification and excellence criteria of scientific institutions, which are often based on technical expertise. The article further examines the conditions required to establish transdisciplinary research within German HEIs.

This contribution proposes an unconference at DH 2025 to strengthen the exchange between visualization research and digital humanities (DH) communities. Building on the DH 2023 workshop on visualization literacy and research opportunities, we aim to create a participant‑driven space where DH researchers, educators, and practitioners can learn about visualization practices and co‑develop a shared research agenda tailored to humanities needs. The unconference has three goals: introducing DH practitioners to the VIS4DH community and resources; enabling attendee‑guided dialogue around their own visualization questions and challenges; and strategically mapping open questions and future directions, including the option of forming an ADHO Special Interest Group.

In our experimental course, we explored the question: “How can a future city be not only smart, but above all loving?” This initiative, aimed at students of design, social work, and other disciplines, was driven by the observation that urban transformation discourse often focuses on smart cities, neglecting the complexities and importance of how we as humans relate to ourselves, other humans, and to the non-human world. We crafted and evaluated a teaching format to create speculative design artefacts, culminating in a public intervention on Valentine’s Day 2025. This event encouraged visitors to question societal notions of love, envision loving futures, and engage in critical reflection. Utilizing the 'Xtopia' approach, we examined the ambivalences between utopia and dystopia. The course incorporated insights from the smart city literature, community work, and love research, prompting speculations on nurturing diverse forms of love in future cities and their implications. Through a challenging iterative design process, students developed five interactive stations for an ‘Xtopian circuit training’ at the event. Despite challenging class dynamics, we successfully equipped students with future skills and achieved an inspiring intervention. We analyze these outcomes through pedagogical theories like transformative learning, offering insights for social design pedagogy.

This article examines the representation of Brazilian dress in historical costume books held by the Lipperheide Costume Library – Fashion Image Collection (Lipperheidesche Kostümbibliothek – Sammlung Modebild), a library and unique compendium of sources depicting the various forms of fashion, traditional costume and dress, referencing their speci­fics to social class, region and gender. It also examines the formation of this Berlin based Library, which was formed in the 19th century, informed by museum foundations and a rebirth of the arts and crafts. This article offers an analytical investigation into how costume books from the Lipperheide collection, published between the 16th and 19th centuries, contributed to shaping European perceptions of Brazilian identity through visual imagery. The research maps these iconographic sources, highlighting their role in constructing stereotypes about Brazilian attire. The methodology involves a systematic review of costume books classified under the category Allgemeine Trachtenbuch (General Costume Books) and draws on theoretical approaches from dress history (Carvalho, 2019; Cumming, 2004) and visual culture studies (Leitch, 2020; Mirzoeff, 2011; Piqueira, 2020), pointing to the entanglement of ethnographic curiosity, colonial narratives, and artistic conventions in the construction of these images. Findings reveal the persistence of idealized and stylized representations of Indigenous Brazilians, which are frequently based on earlier European sources, rather than being based on direct observation. By contextualizing these images within broader discussions on visual and historic dress studies, this article underscores the need to critically reassess the role of such depictions in shaping perceptions of Brazilian identity.