FOUNDING LAB

The FOUNDING LAB

The challenges of the Antropocene require interdisciplinary approaches based on creativity and co-creation. The FOUNDING LAB is a collaborative prototype with which the IT:U and Ars Electronica want to identify and develop new methods and formats for shaping a pioneering university. Boundaries between disciplines and between art and science are to be overcome and all dimensions of digitization are to be considered.

“Founding a new university that conducts innovative teaching and research for the future is a complex process that can only succeed with the involvement of the greatest possible diversity of interdisciplinary expertise and perspectives as well as a great deal of courage to try something new.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Martin Polaschek, Federal Minister of Education, Science & Research, Republic of Austria

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FOUNDING LAB Event

Four months full of exciting academic challenges led the students of the FOUNDING LAB fall semester into uncharted waters of various disciplines. On January 25, 2024, they presented their results during the IT:U open day and in the evening with performances in Deep Space 8K at the Ars Electronica Center.

August 23 – September 13

Summer School

September 6 – 10

Forum

October 2023 – January 2024

Fall Term

What is IT:U?

Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria (IT:U) was founded in 2022 and dedicates its research and teaching to all dimensions of digitization and its transformative impact on science, art, society and business. The university is based on interdisciplinarity and inter-university collaboration. The goal is to attract students who are interested in the interplay of technical, natural science, economics, law, social science, humanities and cultural studies, and artistic disciplines.

What is Ars Electronica?

Ars Electronica has been involved in the digital transformation since 1979. The focus is never on technological progress per se, but on the question of its political, social, ecological and economic impact on us as individuals and on our society. Embedded in a worldwide network of artists, scientists, developers, designers, entrepreneurs and activists, Ars Electronica drives this research forward in and with as broad a public as possible. Whether through exhibitions, conferences, concerts, performances, interventions or innovative educational formats, the goal is to initiate a discourse and thus promote inclusive and sustainable visions of the future.