News

Magdeburg’s former commercial port is undergoing a transformation: from industrial heritage to a vibrant hub for science, innovation and new urban ideas. Directly on the banks of the Elbe and in the immediate vicinity of the university, an exciting environment is emerging in the Science Port where history and the future meet. Where goods were once loaded and industry operated, spaces for research, leisure, culture, living and nature are now developing.

The photography competition ‘Past and Future between City and Elbe’ invites amateur photographers to capture this transformation from their own perspective. What is sought are images that reveal traces of the past, showcase the current upheaval and offer a glimpse into the future of this special place. Selected photographs will subsequently be exhibited in the port's open air gallery. The deadline for entries is 16 June 2026; further information is available here. 

The photography competition is part of the transSCAPE transfer initiative, led by PD Dr. Nora Pleßke. The initiative transSCAPE: Cultural Spaces of Knowledge promotes the development of the Science Port into an open and multifaceted place of knowledge through culture-based transfer formats.

How is medicine portrayed in film – and what does it reveal about our understanding of the body, illness, and healing? The Medicine and Film series, part of the transSCAPE project at Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, examines the representation of various medical themes in popular cinema and connects them with perspectives from the Medical Humanities.

On 23 April 2026, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, the gtransSCAPE team cordially invites all interested parties to a talk by Prof. Dr. Katrin Röder on the topic of "Visualizing Mental and Emotional Complexity: Inside Out (2015)." The talk will be followed by a screening of the film Inside Out in its original English version as well as an open discussion. The event will be held in English and will take place in the Moritzhof Magdeburg.

There is no admission fee!

18:00 – 18:30: Talk on "Visualizing Mental and Emotional Complexity: Inside Out (2015)" (Prof. Dr. Katrin Röder)

18:30 – 20:15: Film Screening Inside Out (O.m.U.)

20:15 – 21:00: Open Discussion (Moderation: transSCAPE)

On Wednesday, 29 April 2026, the transSCAPE team cordially invites all members of the public to the eighth Town Hall Meeting. This open format brings together stakeholders from the the academic, urban, and cultural communities to actively shape the future of Magdeburg's Science Port.

The eighth Town Hall Meeting will provide an insight into key findings: from the refined interim use concept, through engagement formats such as the ‘Kulturbeete’ and the ‘Wissensparcours’, to artistic perspectives, co-creative formats and new approaches such as the student agency.

The event starts at 4 p.m. at the Campus Welcome Center (building 01, lecture hall 6) of the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg (Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg). At 6 p.m., the Town Hall Meeting finishes with an opening of the exhibition ‘A Journey Through Medical History’. All interested parties are invited to join for an open discussion to learn about the latest research and other initiatives and workshops within the transPORT MedTech ecosystem. Registration is requested.

As part of the project module in the Cultural Engineering programme, the interdisciplinary student conference “Situated (Dis)Affiliation? The Politics of Belonging and Alienation in Space and Place” will take place on the FHW campus from 17 to 18 April 2026. It will explore which affective and power-related factors shape our experiences of space and place – and why. The event comprises 17 presentations and begins on Friday, 17 April 2026 at 10 am in Building 44 / Lecture Hall 6. Anyone interested is warmly invited to attend the event or individual presentations without prior registration. The conference programme can be found here. 

Conference Details

Organisers: Ella Keim, Jasper Bettin, und Junia Mosel unter

Date: 17 and 18 April 2026, 10–17hrs

Venue: OVGU Building 44 (Lecture Hall 6), Zschokkestraße 32, 39104 Magdeburg

Programme: Programme Situated (Dis)Affiliation

During the 2026 summer term, the Temporary Object Laboratory (TOL) in Building 5 at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg will be open on Tuesdays from 11:00 to 16:00. Following on from the TOLs on pain and stress, this edition focuses on the third S: sleep. As part of an interdisciplinary collaboration, research will be conducted on, amongst other things, EEG devices from the Historical Medical Technology Collection. From 11:00 to 13:00, the seminar "Culture|Techniques of the Sleep Laboratory", integrated into the TOL, will take place, during which some devices from the collection will be (re)commissioned and collection objects examined for their connections to current practices in sleep optimisation. All interested parties are warmly invited to drop by!
The TOL's findings on the topic of sleep will be presented at the collection conference, which is being organised by the 3ioS research team in Magdeburg from 10 to 12 September. The Sleep Salon will also take place as part of this event; further details will follow.

On Wednesday, 11 February 2026, the transSCAPE team cordially invites all membery of the public to the sixth Town Hall Meeting. This open format brings together stakeholders from the the academic, urban, and cultural communities to actively shape the future of Magdeburg's Science Port.

The Town Hall Meeting 2026+ aims to bring together two levels with the participants: local cultural perspectives and the tourist development of the area in the Science Port – and to develop these ideas further together.

The event starts at 5 p.m. at the Elbwerk, near Daniel's restaurant (Werner-Heisenberg-Straße 1, 39106 Magdeburg). The focus will be on the 2026 summer cultural programme, which should be designed directly from the harbour with ideas, projects and experiences from the urban community. At the same time, the growing tourist and strategic importance of the Science Port for Saxony-Anhalt will be discussed in an international context. Registration is requested.