The SMUS Science Communication Hub advances science communication through innovative audio and visual methods. In collaboration with K LAB, a communication and visualisation unit at TU Berlin, the hub facilitates transdisciplinary knowledge exchange and works on the implementation of two tracks: science communication projects and art-based research residencies. The first track aims at transdisciplinary learning and increasing citizen engagement in envisioning WUP in urban spaces. To stimulate societal engagement, the second track supports art-based explorations of the WUP around which the SMUS Regional Campuses are organised.
The Hub will showcase the results at the 5th International SMUS Conference in Berlin (2029) through a public exhibition, an open-access publication, and art-based research workshops
The 2025 SMUS Science Communication Call invited SMUS network partners to submit innovative project proposals that employed novel and/or alternative ways of tackling Wicked Urban Problems (WUPs).
Projects could focus on either:
We are delighted to share the project outcomes of the six teams that were selected:
Department of Town and Regional Planning Research, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Through fieldwork, workshops, and hands-on production, students were encouraged to engage ethically and imaginatively with the lived experiences of waste pickers, their informal practices, and their interactions with public space.
Lead researcher: Dr Kundani Makakavhule at kundani.makakavhule@up.ac.za.
Faculty of Arts and Design, Universidad Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico
Through on-site work, conversations with various actors, ludic provocations, and the gathering of theoretical and visual materials, this project deconstructs various dimensions of the concept of pests.
Lead researcher: MA Diana Barquero-Pérez. www.dianabarquero.com.
Department of History, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
In this project, Niko Njiani…Nimefika, Kiswahili for “I am on the way… I am here,” Alma Simba used experimental sound and poetry as well as all-female workshops to explore the unequal access faced by women using public transportation systems in both inland and coastal cities in Tanzania.
Lead researcher: Alma Simba at almasimb@gmail.com
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Through community-led exhibitions, intergenerational storytelling, and participatory workshops, this project served as a model for culturally responsive urban planning, bridging Zaramo’s indigenous knowledge systems with contemporary urban development challenges.
Lead researcher: Nancy Rushohora at rushohora.nancy@udsm.ac.tz
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Diponegoro University, Indonesia
Building upon the term ec(h)otoning that amplifies the concept of utilising ecotone as a lens in identifying Wicked Urban Problems (WUP), this project examined the coastal ecotones in Semarang-Demak, Central Java, Indonesia, showcasing the changes in the transitional area between land and sea.
Lead researcher: Iwan Rudiarto at iwan.rudiarto@pwk.undip.ac.id.
Through academic and policy debates, this research team co-developed accessible bilingual training resources that offer lessons learned and recommendations on conservation processes for border territorial planning in Colombia.
Lead researcher: Gisela Paredes at gisela.paredes@parquesnacionales.gov.co.
It has been a great pleasure engaging with the lead researchers and their teams as they worked on producing engaging and informative outputs that have been widely disseminated to a wide range of stakeholder groups that include: academics, local government officials, artists, activists, state institutions, territorial entities, faith-based organisations, agronomists, , cultural officers, school children, farmers, NGO’s and the the private sector to name a few.
If you have general questions about the 2025 Science Communication Call or its outputs, please do not hesitate to contact either the Project Lead researcher or me, Thando Tilmann, at thando.tilmann@tu-berlin.de.
2025 SMUS Science Communication Scientific Coordinator
This year, the focus of the SMUS Science Communication Call, which is being managed by the SMUS Science Communication Hub (SciCom Hub), is EC(h)OTONING – exploring thick edges.
Please stay tuned for more details on the selected 2026 Science Communication projects.