From January 9 to 11, 2026, we will be developing prototypes for analog games together at the Niemöller conference center in Hesse. Anyone who wants to invent new games is welcome to participate. The bpb:board game jam is an event organized by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb). Polarization and populism, authoritarianism and wars, AI and fake news – society is under considerable pressure on several levels. Mistrust of politics, its actors, and institutions is increasingly evident at the ballot box and jeopardizes the consensus on democratic values. Board games, card games, and role-playing games can offer many points of contact and opportunities for communication to think about these issues together and engage in conversation.  👉 How the bpb:board game jam works🔹 Barcamp: Exchange on current challenges to democracy and playful approaches to communication🔹 Development of game ideas alone or in groups🔹 Creation of a playable prototype over the weekend What exactly will emerge is still open: the focus is on mutual exchange and creative work. The event will be accompanied by Lukas Boch from the BoardGame Historian project and the Bonn Lab for Analog Games and Imaginative Play. At a glance:📅 January 9, 12 noon, to January 11, 2026, 4 p.m.🌍EKHN Martin Niemöller Conference Center, Am Eichwaldsfeld 3, 61389 Schmitten📌Apply by December 29, 2025 at www.bpb.de/gamejamWe look forward to receiving many exciting contributions!

Strategy Fund for future-oriented development of studying and teachingProgram line: Future-oriented teaching project line: diverse.sustainable.digital – 2025-2028Project title: NewHorizons: Ein universitätsübergreifendes, inter- und transdisziplinäres Simulations- und Rollenspiel für die Universität Bonn(Group) Project management: Prof. Dr. Adrian Hermann Brief description of the project:What could the diverse students from the numerous disciplines at the University of Bonn contribute to the creation of a completely new world? How can future-oriented, sustainable thinking and a playful approach to university teaching be combined? What synergies can be developed by combining an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary digital teaching and learning architecture that persists throughout the project period with analog teaching offerings offered on a semester basis in person? The interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, cross-faculty NewHorizons project, which is conceptually based at the new IMPULSE – House for Intellectual Innovation and Creativity at the University of Bonn, brings students and teachers together over a period of three years in the form of an online and offline simulation and role-playing game in the spirit of research-based teaching in order to develop the natural and social foundations of a fictional shared (game) world and to further develop it over several phases. Primarily through the integration of shorter teaching sequences into existing courses at the seven faculties, students from all disciplines can contribute to the design of the new world (education system, biosphere, legal foundations, economic system, religions, media landscape, etc.). They take on roles, make decisions, and in doing so train critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Participants can apply their theoretical knowledge in practical, imaginative scenarios and develop innovative and creative solutions in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary manner. At the same time, soft skills such as empathy, cooperation, and communication are promoted (cf. Bowman et al. 2025). The project is also aimed in particular at students in the Honors Program at the University of Bonn, for whom a one-off Honors seminar will be offered during the project period in cooperation with each of the six TRAs. The Bonn Lab for Analog Games and Imaginative Play provides an integrative framework as the ‘game master’.

Prof. Dr. Adrian Hermann was elected Vice Dean for Research, Digitalization, and Transfer at the Faculty of Philosophy in July 2025 and will be supporting Dean Stephan Conermann's team until summer 2027.

Prof. Dr. Adrian Hermann was elected chairman of the German Association for Religious Studies (DVRW) on September 25, 2025. The FIW and the Department of Religious Studies at the Institute for Oriental and Asian Studies will jointly host the Association's Annual Conference in Bonn from September 6 to 10, 2027.

The research group “Civil Sea Rescue as a Crystallization Point of the Debate on Democracy” (ZivDem) is hosting a collaborative workshop with researchers and practitioners from outside academia on November 28, 2025 at IMPULSE – House for Intellectual Innovation and Creativity. Research findings will be presented and critically reflected upon by practitioners.

On November 6, 2025, the Bonn Platform for (Forced) Migration Studies will host its next transdisciplinary roundtable at MIGRApolis in Bonn. Starting at 5:30 p.m., we will discuss effective ways of working together in the context of flight and migration with experts from academia and civil society. The detailed program will be available here shortly. Address: MIGRApolis, Brüdergasse 18, 53111 Bonn

From September 1 to 6, 2025, the first Uni Bonn Game Week, organized by the Bonn Lab for Analog Games and Imaginative Play and EnaCom, took place. Various events wereheld here on the topic of games in research, teaching, and as cultural assets (Interview as part of the program WDR 3 Resonanzen). The week started with a big game night in the Campo cafeteria (Report as part of the WDR Lokalzeit program). More Information can be found here.

From September 1 to 12, 2025, the FIW will host a training session with international game designers as part of the DATIpilot project “Playing for the Future: The Innovation Potential of Tabletop Role-Playing Games in Education.” The training is aimed at employees and students of the Bonn Lab for Analog Games and Imaginative Play and will take place at IMPULSE – House for Intellectual Innovation and Creativity (Adenauerallee 131).During the training, tabletop role-playing game designers from Malaysia, Canada, the US, and Germany will exchange ideas with game researchers from the University of Bonn on innovative game ideas for use in education.