Exchange with ConTrust researchers on current research results in the context of virulent crises and conflicts in various discussion and workshop formats, as well as spaces for informal exchange. The Contrust Praxis Forum was embedded in a two-day transfer conference of the Research Institute for Social Cohesion (FGZ) on 13-14 October, whose programme offerings could also be attended.

In cooperation with the research network Dynamics of the Religious, professors from different humanities researching religiosity met with fellows from federal ministries and the European Commission for an afternoon workshop on the topic "Together in Difference? Social cohesion in religiously diverse societies". The representatives from academia and practice presented their current areas of work and exchanged views on how scientific findings could be (better) transferred into practice.

In the evening, the research network Dynamics of the Religious hosted the public panel discussion "Old conflicts in a new guise? Religious Framing of Political and Social Conflicts". Prof Armina Omerika (History of Ideas of Islam, Goethe University Frankfurt) and PD Dr. Mihai-D. Grigore (Leibniz Institute for European History Mainz) discussed the role of religion in the context of the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the current Russian war of aggression on Ukraine. Prof Birgit Emich (Early Modern History, Goethe University Frankfurt) moderated the discussion and emphasised the importance of dialogue between academia and practice: "The research network "Dynamics of the Religious" conducts interdisciplinary research on scientifically complex questions whose political and social relevance we can observe every day, currently, for example, the war in Ukraine and its religious implications. The dialogue with representatives from ministries and the media is very profitable for us, as it enables us to better understand their perspectives on our research and, at the same time, to contribute to a better understanding of societal challenges with our findings".

On 20-21 September 2022, the Hessian Ministry of the Environment, the Bund/Länder Arbeitsgemeinschaft Chemikaliensicherheit (BLAC) and the Mercator Science-Policy Fellowship-Programme of the Rhine-Main Universities hosted the "Chemicals Policy in Dialogue" Congress on the Westend Campus of Goethe University Frankfurt. During the congress, representatives from ministries, trade associations, companies, science and civil society discussed current challenges. Prof Werner Brack (Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and Goethe University Frankfurt), Prof Nina Janich (German Studies, TU Darmstadt), Prof Joachim Curtius (Experimental Atmospheric Research, Goethe University Frankfurt) and Prof Henner Hollert (Biology, Goethe University Frankfurt) participated in the event on behalf of the Rhine-Main Universities.

A delegation of 24 researchers and university management staff from the Rhine-Main Universities visited Brussels from 14-15 September 2022. The delegation's visit aimed to raise awareness of funding strategies and cooperation opportunities with EU institutions, while at the same time increasing the visibility of the scientific expertise of the Rhine-Main Universities with EU institutions in Brussels.

On 14 September, the Hessian Representation in Brussels welcomed the delegation and, in cooperation with the Rhine-Main Universities, hosted a internal workshop and a public panel discussion. After the welcome by the State Secretary for Europe, Mr. Uwe Becker, Alison Imrie (Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission) presented the strategic plans and work programmes under Horizon Europe. Emanuela Bellan and Julian Keimer presented the work of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, the cooperation opportunities with research institutions and the activities at the interface between science and policy advice. Two fellows of the Mercator Science-Policy Fellowship Programme, Zuzana Gentner-Vavroa (Directorate General Internal Market of the European Commission) and Manfred Rosenstock (Directorate General Environment of the European Commission), reported on the topics of contributing scientific expertise to legislative procedures as well as strategic foresight and the current work programmes.

The afternoon workshop was followed by a public event with three panel discussions. After welcoming addresses by State Secretary Becker and Prof Constantin A. Rothkopf, the first panel discussion was dedicated to the topic of challenges and breakthroughs in infectious disease research. Katja Neubauer (Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission) and Prof Volkhard Kempf (Director of the Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt) addressed current funding strategies and, in particular, the danger posed by antibiotic-resistant germs.

On the second panel, Annika Nowak (DG Research and Innovation of the European Commission), Prof Tobias Bopp (Director of the Institute of Immunology, University Hospital, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz) and Prof Nico Bruns (Head of the Sustainable Polymers Research Group, Department of Chemistry, Technical University Darmstadt) discussed current challenges and breakthroughs in cancer research.

In the third panel, Prof Ingrid Fleming (Director, Institute for Vascular Signalling, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt), Dr Anirban Mukhopadhyay (Head of the Research Group Medical & Environmental Computing (MEC-Lab), Technical University Darmstadt), Prof Jochen Roeper (Director of the Institute for Neurophysiology and the Centre for Physiology, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt) gave insights into their current research projects in the fields of neurophysiology, cardiovascular research and AI.

The three panels were very competently moderated by the journalist Lucia Schulten. With almost 150 visitors from EU institutions, state representations, media organisations and other institutions, the evening event met with great interest.  

On 15 September, the delegation visited the Brussels office of the "Kooperationsstelle EU der Wissenschaftsorganisationen" (KoWi). In two workshops on the European Commission's Cancer Mission with Annika Nowas and EU funding measures in the social sciences, humanities and psychology, the members of the delegation were able to exchange views on current funding strategies. Sebastian Claus, Victoria Reichl and Mareike Schmitt provided information about the support offered by KOWI.

• Andrea Lassmann joined the University of Mainz as Professor of International Economic Policy in 2020. Prior to that, she worked at the OECD and ETH Zurich, where she also obtained her PhD. Her research fields are international and public economics, and she is particularly interested in examining the role of languages in a globalized world. Recent publications include a working paper on “Global Spillovers of Taxation in the Online Advertising Market. Theory and Evidence from Facebook".  

• Benjamin Mueller is a senior policy analyst at the Center for Data Innovation, focusing on AI and technology governance. Prior to joining the Center he was chief of staff at a financial technology company in London. Dr. Mueller studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford, and completed his PhD in International Relations at the London School of Economics. 

• Gösta Petri is a lawyer by education and has worked for the European Commission for 20 years, including 10 years in the field of consumer and marketing law. His current responsibilities in DG Justice and Consumers include the maintenance and further development of the e-Justice Portal, the implementation of the e-Justice Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2023, negotiation of the proposal for a Regulation on the e-CODEX system, and preparing the Digitalisation of judicial cooperation package included in the Commission's Work Programme 2021.

• Bernd Skiera is Professor of Electronic Commerce at Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany), a Professorial Fellow at Deakin University (Australia) and a member of the board of the EFL-Data Science Institute and the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft. His research interests are consumer privacy, marketing analytics, data-driven marketing, electronic commerce, online advertising, SalesTech, MarTech and marketing automation. He was awarded an ERC Advanced Grant to conduct research on consumer privacy on the Internet. In early 2022, he as recently published the book The Impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)on the Online Advertising Market.