About Us

 

This initiative was launched through the collaboration of an interdisciplinary research group. In 2023, we first came together for a three-day think tank to jointly explore how the science fiction genre can be harnessed for futures research. This gave rise to a shared research agenda as well as further ideas for future collaboration.

Starting Point: Scoping Workshop

In July 2023, our group met for the first time as part of a scoping workshop funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, a format designed to drive the development of emerging research fields. The workshop centered on exploring science fiction as a genre that offers far more than mere entertainment. We examined how various aspects of science fiction can be leveraged to generate ideas for the future. Our discussions revolved around several key questions: How can science fiction literature contribute to futures research? In what ways can concepts from science fiction be translated into reality? And what does science fiction thinking mean as a skill that prepares us for the future? The results of the workshop were published in a joint position paper.

Zum Positionspapier

The Collective

As the Science Fiction Thinking Collective, we see ourselves as a loose alliance of researchers, authors, and industry experts united by the goal of exploring the potential of science fiction not only theoretically, but also harnessing it practically for futures research and related fields. We are convinced that science fiction can offer unique perspectives and creative solutions for present and future challenges. Through our interdisciplinary collaboration, we strive to develop innovative research and practical approaches that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries, with working groups focusing on areas ranging from foundational theoretical research and creative development to practical applications in industry and society.

Who is behind it?

Heads

Laura Bechthold

Coordinator & Contact Person

Professor of Technology Assessment & Cultural Management at the Bavarian Foresight Institute, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt.

Focus Areas: Responsible Innovation & Ethical Foresight for Emerging Technologies.

Jan Oliver Schwarz​

Professor of Strategic Foresight & Trend Analysis at the Bavarian Foresight Institute, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt.

Focus Areas: Strategic Foresight & Trend Analysis at the Bavarian Foresight Institute, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt.

Markus May

Coordinator & Contact Person Professor of Modern German Literature at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Focus Areas: Study of the various genres of the fantastic, including horror, science fiction, and fantasy across their diverse (inter)medial forms.

Christoph Bläsi

Professor of Book Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

Focus Areas: Book industry and digital publishing.

Marcus John

Head of KATI Lab at Fraunhofer INT

Focus Areas: Methodological Foundations of Futures Research & Data-Driven Foresight.

Moritz Botts

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Turkish-German University in Istanbul.

Lars Schmeink

Researcher in Futures Studies at the Institute of System Architectures in Aeronautics of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Founder of the Association for Research in the Fantastic (Gesellschaft für Fantastikforschung).

Karlheinz Steinmüller

Science fiction author, futurist, and co-founder of "Z_punkt GmbH – The Foresight Company".

Gerhard Schönhofer

Ethnologist and Research Associate at the Bavarian Foresight Institute.

Who we are?

This initiative was launched and has since been advanced by the Bayerischen Foresight-Institut. Founded in November 2022 at TH Ingolstadt, the Bavarian Foresight Institute aims to conduct technology-oriented futures research and explore emerging technologies alongside their economic and societal interdependencies. With its interdisciplinary approach and applied research focus, it is one of the few academic institutes in Germany dedicated specifically to foresight.