TUM: Junge AkademieSymposium | 2026

All Means Towards Science

The greatest path to a better future runs through responsibly conducted science. On 10 June 2026, the “All Means Towards Science” Symposium brought together everyone who shares that conviction and isn't willing to wait until graduation to act on it. Thank you for being part of it.

DateWed, 10 June 2026
Time17:30
VenueTUM AudimaxArcisstr. 21, Munich
Our Guest Speakers
Human Wellbeing & Health
Oliver Hayden

Oliver Hayden

Heinz-Nixdorf-Chair for Biomedical Electronics, TUM

Magnetic flow cytometry and optical diagnostics. Detecting disease in the cells of a single drop of blood.

Collaboration & Foresight
Stefanie Walter

Stefanie Walter

Assistant Professor for Science and Crisis Communication, TUM

Crisis narratives, climate discourse, and how the media shape public debate.

Intelligence & Learning
Xia Chen

Xia Chen

Postdoctoral Fellow, TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute

Human–AI alignment and adaptive systems that learn to reason alongside us.

Collaboration & Fairness
Rena Alcalay

Rena Alcalay

Postdoctoral Researcher, Philosophy of Science, TUM

Philosophy of open science, with a focus on social and applied epistemology.

Human Wellbeing & Health
Julia Sistermanns

Julia Sistermanns

Research Assistant, Methods of Signal Processing, TUM

Modelling complex, high-dimensional systems, with applications to biomedical signal processing.

TUM JA Class25
Human wellbeing & environmental integrity

CleanStreamTeam

Can we clear harmful and persisting PFAS from drinking water? Testing bio-based and conventional surfactants in foam fractionation to capture the short-chain compounds that standard treatment misses.

Human wellbeing & health

Sprouts

How does the availability of plant-based dishes shape what we choose to eat? A behavioural study on how the design of a food environment quietly steers everyday decisions.

Human wellbeing & sustainability

K.U.N.S.T.

What is holding back seaweed packaging? The team is surveying the barriers, real and perceived, that keep consumers from adopting seaweed-based alternatives to plastic.

Collaboration & interconnection

GenBridge

Can a structured programme change how two generations see each other? Students and older adults paired by professional interest, with guided conversations and surveys measuring whether connection follows from contact.

Collaboration & alignment

voTUM

What shapes how young people think about fiscal policy? A cross-national experiment on how political signals, together with the patience with which citizens weigh tomorrow against today, travel across borders and move opinion at home.

TUM JA Class26
Intelligence & Learning

IntelliTUM

Why does a child learn from three examples what an AI needs millions to grasp? Comparing biological and machine learning to find the efficiency gap — and what AI could borrow from biology to close it.

Intelligence & Possibility

DNJA

With synthetic DNA we may store the images we generate today — can we still decode them tomorrow? Mapping the full pipeline from encoding to reconstruction, and tackling the insertion and deletion errors that arise along the way.

Human Wellbeing & Experience

StressED

Can combining surveys with physiological data reveal how stress really builds in students? Designing and testing simple interventions — breathing exercises, training sessions — to reduce academic pressure where it actually forms.

Collaboration & Decision Resilience

CultivaTUM

How does uncertainty shape farmers' decisions — and why do they so rarely follow expert recommendations? Analyzing the gap between scientific models and actual behavior across economic, political, and environmental dimensions.

Collaboration & Alignment

ClimpACT

Why does effective climate action remain so slow despite the evidence? Mapping how psychological, social, and political barriers reinforce each other — and which approaches might actually break through.

Collaboration & Interconnection

Dexchange

Could a structured inner-German exchange programme — an Erasmus for domestic students — reduce regional divides? Surveying mobility barriers and developing a concrete pilot concept.

Joined the symposium
Thank you

That was All Means Towards Science.

On 10 June 2026, the Audimax filled to celebrate #class25 and reimagine the future of science. Thank you to everyone who made the evening what it was.