Thuringian Water Innovation Cluster

Part of the Clusters4Future initiative

Drop of water on a lake

Image: Adobe Stock

Developing water management fit for the future

The supply of clean water is one of the biggest social challenges of the future, on a global scale and in Germany alike. To prevent water scarcity and the potential for social conflict that is linked to it, new alliances across research, the economy, the public sector and civil society are necessary. Technological innovations like new methods for water treatment or smart water monitoring are as much in demand as social innovations such as new water usage systems or accounting processes.

The Thuringian Water Innovation Cluster (“Thüringer Wasser-Innovationscluster”, ThWIC) was initiated by Friedrich Schiller University Jena together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTSExternal link and the University of Applied Sciences JenaExternal link. As part of the Clusters4FutureExternal link initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF), it aims to develop solutions for a more sustainable approach to water. For this purpose, ThWIC combines cutting-edge research about central aspects of water usage: new kinds of technology for analysis and purification methods, data science innovations and sociological research. Together with our industrial partners, we are working on solutions for a water management that is fit for the future. In doing so, we help meet global challenges effectively.

Event calendar 2024

18 March to 22 March 2024 I Theme week on World Water Day

Globe with plants and water

Illustration: Adobe Stock

22 March is World Water Day. World Water Day, instituted by the United Nations, highlights the importance of drinkable water and the necessity of handling water sustainably. For this reason, this was a very special date for our ThWIC community.

In the week from 18 March to 22 March 2024, in a collaboration between the Fraunhofer IKTS institute and ThWIC, we organized a programme de to demonstrate different approaches to a sustainable way of dealing with water in our projects.

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3 April to 3 July 2024 I Ways of Water Lecture Series

Water flowing over rock

Image: Adobe Stock

Water is not only an elemental force and a vital matter for all living beings but it is also a deeply poetic and symbolic substance with an enduring history in the human imagination. This lecture series de will examine how water serves as both a physical backdrop and a symbolic motif in North American literature. Ranging from water’s pivotal role in struggles for environmental justice, the imagination of water futures to aesthetic and symbolic dimensions of water in poetic works this lecture series explores the many ways in which water shapes North American literature.

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11 April to 7 July 2024 I Sustainability Lecture Series

Blocks with the logos of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Image: AdobeStock

With the rise of sustainability to one of the most influential terms of the present, sustainability research has changed likewise. The restriction to primarily ecological lines of questioning has long since made way to the understanding that in the current sustainability crisis, questions of ecological, economical, social and cultural nature are interlaced.

This lecture series de offers insights into current discussions, central topics and controversies of sustainability research and introduces various disciplinary approaches to sustainability issues. The lectures are open for interested students of all subjects and study programmes.

The lecture series is part of the ThWIC project IntraLEAD. Find more information about the project IntraLEAD here de.

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16 April to 2 July 2024 I ThWIC Lecture Series

Lecture by Dr. Alexander Kulik in a lecture hall

Image: Anika Kirschstein

Water issues can only be solved collectively. Through working together across borders between subjects and disciplines. Through close partnerships between science and business. Through cooperating with stakeholders in politics, administration, and civil society. With the ThWIC Lecture Series, we want to open up a room to find new perspectives on water issues, discover complementary skills, and establish new partnerships. Short impulses from academia and practice grant insights into current topics around our cluster and provide a space to exchange ideas. Bring your ideas, suggestions, and questions surrounding the topic water and become part of the ThWIC community!

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22 to 26 April 2024 I HANNOVER MESSE 2024

View of the exhibition hall from above

Image: Adobe Stock

The HANNOVER MESSEExternal link takes place from 22 to 26 April 2024. At the joint booth Forschung für die Zukunft ("Research for the Future") of Thuringia's universities in hall 2, stand C24, we are presenting the Thuringian Water Innovation Cluster (ThWIC). Using various exhibits from our projects as examples, we want to illustrate ThWIC's range and give our ThWIC community the chance to present their work towards a sustainable approach to water to a broad audience.

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15 May 2024 I InnoCON Thuringia 2024

On 15 May 2024, the Thuringian Ministry for Economy, Science and Digital Society (Thüringer Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Digitale Gesellschaft) and the Thuringian Cluster Management invite to their annual event InnoCON Thuringia 2024External link. Following the slogan TransferXThüringen: Wissen teilen. Innovationen schaffen. ("TransferXThuringia: Sharing Knowledge. Creating Innovation."), this poses an opportunity to get in-depth information about the transfer of knowledge and technology, especially in Thuringia. Represented by the cluster's speaker Prof. Dr. Michael Stelter, ThWIC as a Thuringian success story is also invited to the panel discussion and presents itself simultaneously with a booth at the InnoMarkt.

Learn moreExternal linkde
4 and 5 June 2024 I Week of the Environment (Woche der Umwelt)

Week of the Environment in Castle Bellevue

Image: David Ausserhofer

The Woche der UmweltExternal link ("Week of the Environment") presents innovative environmental protection topics and projects: The Federal President and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU) cordially invite you to Berlin on 4 and 5 June 2024 in pursuit of a greener future. Around 190 exhibitors will present their innovative solutions for responsibly shaping change in the park of Schloss Bellevue. We are excited to be one of them!

Learn moreExternal linkde
7 and 8 October 2024 I ThWIC Retreat

Dr. Patrick Bräutigam giving a speech in the auditorium of the University of Applied Sciences Jena

Image: Anika Kirschstein

In order to foster exchange and networking within and outside of the cluster, ThWIC plans another two-day ThWIC Retreat this year on 7 and 8 October 2024.

Besides the presentation of the cluster's current results, this year's important items on the agenda include the strategy process and a think tank for future cooperations and joint research projects.

Find more information and sign up here de.
22 November 2024 I Long Night of Science

On 22 November 2024, the University of Jena opens its doors again to young and old night owls alike. The multi-faceted world of science, as well as the newest inventions and discoveries made in Jena, are presented in experiments, talks, presentations, join-in activities, and guided tours for the whole family. ThWIC, too, plans a very special programme in the facilities of the Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry CEEC II that we just moved into.

Learn moreExternal linkde