On November 14, 2024, Prof. Jan S. Hesthaven, President of KIT, and Vice President Transfer and International Affairs, Prof. Thomas Hirth, announced the program for the anniversary year 2025. The 200th anniversary of KIT as a place of the future with scientific excellence and inventiveness will be celebrated. In addition to event highlights such as the ceremony, the 100 Objects exhibition, the open day and the Science Week, the transfer to industry and society will be an important topic: "The anniversary year offers the opportunity to experience the diversity of research at KIT and to make it even more visible to society," says Prof. Hirth, who is responsible for the organization of the anniversary together with a team from KIT. This could be done both through offers to citizens and through formats for the transfer from science to industry.

Transfer creates a valuable impact

High-impact research – i.e. research with a positive, measurable impact on society and the economy – is highly valued at KIT. This culture is supported in many ways and practiced by the researchers. Innovation from tradition is shown, among other things, in the exhibition "200 Years of KIT – 100 Objects. Parts of the Whole." "KIT and its predecessor institutions have produced famous innovations, such as Heinrich Hertz, Ferdinand Braun, Hermann Staudinger and Fritz Haber, who worked here and researched topics that are still highly relevant to countless technologies today," says Prof. Hirth, looking back. However, the focus at KIT is primarily on the future: "The researchers at KIT have a wide range of ideas and are working on research topics on how we could meet the major social challenges of our time. Putting these into practice is one of our greatest concerns," continues Hirth.