Paths to Impact at Leuphana

The university’s Transfer and Impact Award recognizes projects that drive social change. What role do research collaborations and knowledge transfer play in ensuring that scientific findings have a real-world impact?

Research generates new knowledge. However, it only realizes its social value through engagement with society. As the sociologist of science Jason Owen-Smith notes, universities serve simultaneously as sources of new knowledge, as anchors for their regions, and as hubs connecting different sectors of society. It is precisely from this that their ability to respond to unforeseen challenges arises. This potential is most effective where research meets the perspectives, experiences, and needs of various social actors. This is exactly where research collaborations and knowledge transfer come into play.

It is precisely the major challenges of our time—ranging from the sustainable transformation of the economy and society to issues of democratic participation and technological innovation—that cannot be solved within individual sectors of society. They call for new forms of collaboration between academia, business, public institutions, the cultural sector, and civil society.

Science-based startups are an important field in which scientific discoveries drive change: they translate research findings into new products or services, thereby serving as a bridge between scientific knowledge and societal application.

For us, knowledge transfer is not a one-way street, but a collaborative process in which knowledge is generated and applied. Through the Transfer and Impact Award, we recognize impact-oriented projects and highlight our researchers’ commitment to society.

How can an impact strategy help highlight and strategically develop the diverse ways in which a university contributes to society?

An impact strategy creates the conditions necessary for scientific findings to realize their full potential for society. It treats research, teaching, and knowledge transfer as equally important, interlinked tasks and strengthens the channels through which knowledge flows into societal debates, organizations, innovations, and political processes. Our vision for an impact strategy: It should convincingly demonstrate how universities take responsibility for the common good while simultaneously serving independent and free science.

A key approach involves what are known as impact pathways. These describe the steps from scientific discovery to societal impact: from the joint identification of relevant research questions, through co-creative development processes and knowledge transfer formats, to long-term changes in practice and society. These pathways highlight the value that participants have created for science and for society. And they help to systematically understand, promote, and make impact visible.

And where does the university currently stand on this issue?

We view research with practical partners, knowledge transfer, and entrepreneurship as closely intertwined elements of a shared transformation process: science provides the foundation, collaborations open up new fields of application, knowledge transfer and communication foster connectivity, and startups enable innovations to be scaled up and permanently embedded in society and the economy.

Strategically, we focus on three areas of action: First, we promote learning processes and aim to develop an impact culture in order to build the capacity for an impact-oriented approach in the first place. Second, we strengthen communication and networking so that research results resonate and feed into the broader discourse. Third, we continuously develop our expertise in data-driven analysis of societal impact.

How is the university already making a concrete contribution to solving the most pressing challenges of our time?

Leuphana already has a strong impact ecosystem: the Leuphana Innovation Communities, the Cooperation Service, a vibrant startup culture, and initiatives such as the Utopia Conference create spaces where academia and society can shape the future together. Our university-wide research focus on transformation further brings this impact to life—for example, in the structural development project “Embracing Transformation.” The AACSB accreditation of the Faculty of Management and Technology has also strengthened our focus on impact. An impact strategy makes these diverse connections visible, strengthens them in a targeted manner, and further expands Leuphana’s role as a catalyst for societal transformation.

University members can find more information about the award on the intranet under “Kooperationen und Transfer”.