Summer semester 2026 Bridge Seminars

Worldwide, the dramatic increase of agricultural production has caused a number of negative side effects such as extensive use of mono-cultures, plant diseases and widespread pesticide application, loss of biodiversity, excessive fertilizing and soil degradation. Climate change has added additional risks such as high temperature, extended drought periods but also excessive rainfall. Last but not least, industrial agricultural practices and modes of land use have often resulted in various negative impacts on local human populations. While for human nutrition sufficient calorie intake is mandatory, the quality of plant food is a critical determinant for human health. Here, unhealthy life styles due to massive consumption of processed food have developed into a major health hazard. Although a change in agricultural production practices appears to be urgently needed, societal power relations are major obstacles for the required transformation. Using concrete case studies, this seminar explores the complex societal inter-dependencies behind the observed mal-development but also presents promising approaches to address some of the major challenges. 

SEMINAR DATES:

• Online kick-off meeting:
  Tue., 21.4.2026, 14 - 15
   
• Block course:
  Mo., 1. and Tue., 2.6.2026, 9 – 17
  Club room and Seminar room 1 

VENUE:
Marsilius-Kolleg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.1
 

Infos and Registration heiCO

Digital learning environments offer unique opportunities to support learners through adaptive presentation, visual highlighting, or AI-generated cues that respond to individual learning behavior. But what kind of support is actually helpful, and when do such „training wheels“ become a problem? This question is at the heart of our interdisciplinary bridging seminar, which brings together perspectives from educational science, cognitive psychology, and visualization research in computer science.
Our starting point is the question of how digital learning environments can be designed to support cognitive processes without undermining independent thinking. This becomes particularly relevant where learners are confronted with complex content they would struggle to engage with on their own. But how do we evaluate the success of digital assistance? Under what conditions does it promote learning, and when does it risk overwhelming learners? And which cognitive tasks should or may assistance systems take on for learners?
In the seminar, we discuss the opportunities and risks of digital learning environments. Following a design-based approach, we will both develop ideas for support systems and consider how they might be evaluated. The seminar is open to students from all disciplines and thrives on the diversity of different perspectives.

SEMINAR DATES:

• Hybrid kick-off meeting:
  Fri., 8.5.2026, 9:15
  per Zoom or Lecture hall on the ground floor
   
• Block course 1:
  Fri., 29.5.2026, 9 – 17
  Seminar room 2
   
• Block course 2:
  Fri., 17.7.2026, 9 – 17
  Seminar room 2

VENUE:
Marsilius-Kolleg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.1

Information and registration details for heiCO will be available here shortly. 

Organoid research is one of the most dynamic fields in contemporary biomedicine. Organoids – three-dimensional cell cultures derived from stem cells that mimic certain structures and functions of human organs – open up new possibilities for studying development and disease, testing therapies, and advancing personalized medicine. 
This seminar explores the scientific foundations as well as current trajectories of organoid research and discusses them alongside their ethical implications. It introduces students to the biological principles behind organoid models and examines their current and potential applications in basic and clinical research. Visits to local organoid research facilities will provide participants with direct insight into ongoing research practice. At the same time, the seminar encourages critical reflection on the ethics of organoid research: How can organoids be understood philosophically and morally? How do they relate to other biological models? And in what ways do they serve as an example for studying the ethics of biomedical research in general?
The seminar is aimed at students from all disciplines and faculties. It offers an interdisciplinary space for exchange between the life sciences, medicine, and the humanities, and welcomes participants with different perspectives and levels of prior knowledge.

SEMINAR DATES:

• Online kick-off meeting:
  The accepted participants will be sent an email to arrange
  a preliminary meeting via Zoom.
   
• Block course:
  Thu., 21.5.2026, 13-19
  Fri., 22.5.2026, 9 – 16
  Seminar room 2 
   
• Registration via email: 

  nils.schuetz@ts.uni-heidelberg.de

VENUE:
Marsilius-Kolleg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.1
 

Further information will be available soon at heiCO.