Transatlantic Workshop

July 9 and 10, 2026 | University of Tübingen

 

We warmly invite all interested researchers to participate in a two-day interdisciplinary and transatlantic workshop exploring the potential of playful media forms such as videogames, board games, performance, or creative writing for teaching and researching about sustainable development. Sustainable development entails complex interdependencies between social, ecological, and economic dimensions that demand holistic approaches, in-depth ethical reflections, and political engagement. As multimodal, interactive and fun media forms, playful media promise to be particularly suitable for translating these complexities into accessible and actionable forms of knowledge. The workshop will provide a platform for researchers of different disciplinary backgrounds to (1) discuss each other’s perspectives and research interests at the intersection of games, pedagogy, and sustainable development (2) to share ideas and experiences around teaching about sustainable development and (3) to develop long-term networks for research and collaboration. 

“Playful Media and Sustainable Futures” is a joint initiative between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) and the University of Tübingen (Germany) and is supported by Seed Funding for Collaborative Projects between these two partner universities.

 

Guiding Questions for the Workshop

• How do playful media tackle questions around sustainable development?

• How can different kinds of playful media support experience-based learning and imaginative engagement? How does this vary in different cultural and national settings?

• How can playful media foster the development of moral values conducive to “ecological citizenship? What are limitations?

• What pedagogical approaches are particularly effective for integrating playful media in the classroom?

• What research methods are best suited for assessing the effectiveness of playful media (e.g. for teaching, learning, and creating awareness around sustainable development)?

• How can interdisciplinary and international research collaborations address key research questions involving playful media, sustainability, and ethics? How can we make those research collaborations themselves more sustainable?

 

Workshop Format & Expected Outcomes

The workshop combines keynote lectures, theoretical and conceptual presentations, group discussions, and simulations of different teaching formats. We will also play and discuss several examples of games used in educational contexts. We hope that our discussions will lead to novel research ideas and provide a foundation for long-term future collaborations, including plans for future grant applications. Besides offering a place to network with other researchers and get to know different teaching concepts, we aim to develop concrete teaching modules that can be implemented in a variety of different courses.

 

How to Participate: 

We warmly invite interested researchers of all disciplines and career levels to participate in the workshop. In addition to talks and discussion sessions, we will also offer informal meet-and-greets with plenty of opportunities to connect with fellow researchers across disciplines. To keep the conversation flowing smoothly, we encourage all participants to attend the entire workshop. Since slots for participation are limited, we kindly ask you to send a brief statement introducing yourself as well as defining your specific field of expertise or interest (~200 words) to Jana Hecktor (jana.hecktorspam prevention@izew.uni-tuebingen.de), Martin Hennig (martin.hennigspam prevention@izew.uni-tuebingen.de), and Theresa Krampe (theresa.krampespam prevention@izew.uni-tuebingen.de) by April 17, 2026.

 

We also have a few open slots for 5–10-minute lightning talks on the workshop topics. If you are interested in giving a talk, please send an abstract of ~300 words to the organizers.

 

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For inquiries and further information, please contact:

Jana Hecktor, IZEW, University of Tübingen (jana.hecktorspam prevention@izew.uni-tuebingen.de)

Martin Hennig, IZEW, University of Tübingen (martin.hennigspam prevention@izew.uni-tuebingen.de)

Theresa Krampe, IZEW, University of Tübingen (theresa.krampespam prevention@izew.uni-tuebingen.de) 

 

The transatlantic team of organizers includes: 

Steven Gotzler, Elizabeth Havice, Courtney Rivard, Michelle Robinson

(UNC-Chapel Hill)

Christoph Bareither, Jana Hecktor, Martin Hennig, Theresa Krampe, Simon Meisch

(University of Tübingen)