Magdeburg University goes in search of treasure

Magdeburg (vs) l Search for ancient things in a dark and crowded cellar and then do a search to find out their secrets and histories? What initially seems like a treasure hunt adventure becomes a reality for students of all faculties in the Magdeburg University incubation project.

A nursery is an institution in which all groups are brought together in the context of the university’s history. Collections and objects are evidence of the history of knowledge and science and can be used in research as well as in teaching. Self-taught cultural engineering, Marilyn Adam explains there are no limits to the range of groups, so the university has different combinations of fields of medicine, technology, arts and natural sciences.

Things were collected

But why is now really a nursery? After all, the history of the University of Magdeburg is still quite manageable. Are there really interesting things that tell a story? Certainly! The student says, despite the history of youth, a large number of things have accumulated over time, some of which also come from previous institutions. Accordingly, the collections are tangible records that can also, as contemporary witnesses to the history of the university, be a valuable resource for research and teaching today.

Incubation in a pandemic

Since her participation in the project, Marilyn Adam has also been part of the team that plans and enables everything related to sub-projects. At the start of the semester, it usually comes down to teaching support: in the mini-workshops, external and in-house experts present their research areas around the focus of the subproject. Additionally, we are always working to locate and register as well as ideally to confine the university’s objects and collections. For example, we managed to save an interesting set of cards from the trash, which is now in the sentry warehouse, Adam says. With the inventory, the cards can now be used again for research and teaching.

Project on a new tour

In the spring of 2021 she worked on the official guardianship website. The Corona pandemic poses major challenges for the entire team around the incubation project. Group seminars and mini-workshops have been canceled in the summer semester 2020. In addition, the project lives on from the fact that students work in teams on objects with communication restrictions that are not that easy. We were still able to go to the basement where the medical tech group is, albeit late. We always had to keep appointments so that there were not too many people in the building at the same time. Fortunately some things can be borrowed so that we can also work from home, Marilyn Adam explains. Now the nursery project is entering a new round. Since not all events can be held as planned in the summer semester 2020, the incubation project is also dedicating itself to the university’s medical groups this summer.

A quick overview of your medical history

Topics such as medical technology, medical history, medical ethics, gender issues, medicine, art, medicine, literature and medicine as well as medical groups from different artistic and professional perspectives are closely examined here.

Why should students participate in the incubation project in the summer semester 2021? Marilyn Adam: Aside from the fact that it is very exciting to hunt treasure and discover the history of things, the nursery project also fosters various basic skills, including communication, teamwork and time management skills. Additionally, students learn everything important about research and freelance / journalistic writing. And what’s especially cool: You can make many connections, including from outside the university, through the project.