Innovativeness

Professor Inga Gryl’s (Institute of Geography/Institute of General Studies) research group focuses on the study of innovativeness. In societies that are constantly changing at an ever-accelerating pace, the popular term of ‘innovation’ simultaneously describes present conditions and future goals. Not only is it extremely multi-layered and complex, it is also highly charged from a cultural and normative point of view. The ongoing project on the social implications of innovativeness (‘Innovativität vor dem Hintergrund der gesellschaftlichen Implikationen von Innovation’) aims to shine a light on the term (with reference to concepts such as network theory, action theory and the ethics of responsibility), evaluate it in light of current issues (e.g., sustainability) and, by doing so, make innovativeness – the ability to make qualified contributions to social innovation processes – available to educational processes in consideration of the social conditionality of education.