Prof. Dr. Stefan Selke
Fellow
Stefan Selke initially studied aerospace engineering in Aachen (with Jesco von Puttkamer, among others). After a longer stay in Brazil (1991/92), he then studied sociology (and other humanities and social science subjects) in Bonn and finally received his doctorate in sociology with distinction in 2001. Selke has been teaching as a professor at Furtwangen University (HFU) since 2008, and as Professor of Sociology and Social Change since 2011. Since 2015, he has also held the “Transformative and Public Science” research professorship, which is unique in the German-speaking world.
In the “Public Science Lab”, which he founded, innovative methods of collaborative knowledge production and dialogical and transformative knowledge transfer are developed and workshops and further training in the field of public science are offered. Since 2022, Stefan Selke has been publishing the magazine “Zugluft” for public science research, teaching and society in this environment.
https://www.public-science-lab.de/
https://www.zugluft.de/https://www.zugluft.de/
Stefan Selke's current areas of work and research are grouped around the central theme of “social and planetary transformation”: social and techno-utopias, future design, future narratives and future euphoria, civilization experiments and space utopias in the context of “new space exploration” and the “planetary condition”.
As a disciplinary border crosser and active public scientist, Stefan Selke is regularly present as a speaker, book author and media interlocutor outside of science (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, online).
More about the person:
Academic Profile
Academic Positions
Research Professorship “Transformative and Public Science”, Furtwangen University of Applied Sciences HFU (since 2015)
Founder of the “Public Science Lab” (2021)
Professorship “Social Change”, HFU (since 2011)
Professorship “Sociology of Digital Media”, HFU (2008-2011)
Visiting Professorships
Visiting Professor “Public Science”, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2025-)
Visiting Professor “Artificial Intelligence”, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy (2025)
Visiting Professor, Huddersfield University (UK) (2018-2022)
Visiting Professor, University of Salzburg (2015-2016)
Visiting Professor, University of Vienna (2012/13)
Research interests
Societal transformation: Transformation design, social, change, future narratives, future images, real-utopian projects, humanity and civilization labs, future euphoria
Public science: public sociology, new public social science, transformative science, progress narratives, transformative knowledge transfer
Research Fellowships
Research Fellow “Expert for Space Flight and Future Narrative”, European Space Agency ESA, Paris (2023)
Visiting Research Fellow, Woolf Institute, Cambridge (UK) (2015)
Awards
Wolfgang Heilmann Prize 2021 of the Integrata Foundation for “Human Utopia as a Framework for the Post-Corona Society”. The prize was awarded for the NeoUniversity concept, which combines artificial and human intelligence, and for the work as a public scientist
Current third-party funded projects
Explorative Modernity. On the public value of the new space exploration (in preparation)
Der editierte Mensch. Artificial Intelligence and Human Memory (in preparation)
Completed third-party funded projects
"Artificial Intelligence as a Social Promise" (BMBF joint project KI.Me.Ge, 2021-2023)
Digitaldialog 21 - Transdisciplinary Cartography of Digital Change between Participatory Social Analysis and Transformative Science (2019-2022)
Big Data and Bonuses. Pay-as-you-live tariffs in healthcare. Technological prerequisites and social consequences (2019-2021)
Link opens in the same window:VALID - Ethical aspects of digital self-measurement in healthcare (2017-2020)
SONIA - Social inclusion through technology-supported communication services in an urban-rural comparison (2013-2016)
Sustainability in your luggage - From ‘watch wearers’ to ‘vision skippers’. Nachhaltigkeit als Exportschlager aus ländlichen Innovationsregionen (2013-2016)
Selbstbestimmt und Sicher (2013-2015) (Interdisziplinäre Kooperation)
ZAFH-AAL (Zentrum für angewandte Forschung Ambient Assisted Living) (2013-2015) (Interdisziplinäre Kooperation)
Tafel-Monitor - Transformation der Lebensmitteltafeln und ähnlichen existenzunterstützender Angebote im institutionellen Spannungsfeld zwischen Angebot und Nachfrage (2011-2014)
Limits of the good deed. Existence-supporting offers sponsored by community and association providers in NRW (2010-2011)
Postmediale Wirklichkeiten - Wie sehen die Medien der Zukunft aus? (2008-2010)
Academic memberships and activities
Numerous advisory board memberships, reviewer and jury activities in the context of research associations and (international) journals as well as memberships in academic networks
Editor of the book series “Öffentliche Wissenschaft und gesellschaftlicher Wandel”, editor of the handbook “Öffentliche Wissenschaft”, numerous editorships of edited volumes, author of 15 edited volumes, 9 monographs and approx. 150 articles
For a complete overview of publications, click here
Non-academic activities
Long-standing collaboration with the Schader Foundation in the area of “Dialogue between Science and Society”
Continuous media coverage (approx. 50 TV, 150 radio broadcasts, approx. 100 articles for newspapers and magazines)
Collaboration with museums, theaters and artists in the context of “Public Science”