Looking Back at the Eucor MobiLab Roadshow 2025
With the Eucor MobiLab Roadshow 2025, Eucor – The European Campus once again demonstrated how research along the Upper Rhine can reach people: open, mobile, and cross-border. Seven stops in three countries offered a total of 1,470 visitors the opportunity to explore research topics in new and interactive ways.
“The Roadshow was a complete success this year. Researchers from the universities within the Eucor and TriRhenaTech networks presented scientifically abstract ideas in a clear and tangible way, conveyed the relevance of research to people’s everyday lives, and engaged in open dialogue with wider society,” says Thomas Heine, coordinator of the Eucor MobiLab Roadshow. Embedded as a new transfer project within the Science pillar of the Trinational Metropolitan Region Upper Rhine (TMO), it sees itself as a place where science and society can interact directly. Heine describes the MobiLab as a “chameleon of knowledge transfer” – a format capable of adapting to a wide range of contexts.
A mobile laboratory with many faces
The MobiLab, a flexible tiny house developed by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology with indoor and outdoor areas, highlighted different themes at each location: from medicine to climate adaptation, from optics and 3D technologies to urban transformation processes. One new element proved particularly effective in 2025: art as a medium for knowledge transfer.
Positive feedback further strengthened the format: in Basel, for example, a chief physician expressed strong interest in using the MobiLab at his own institution; in Karlsruhe, Daniel Lang praised the format as a “fantastic instrument” during the panel discussion.
Not every location proved equally easy to establish, yet the diversity of participants, programmes, and visitors showed how well the MobiLab can build on existing local formats – from the Village des Sciences in Mulhouse to KIT Science Week in Karlsruhe.
The stations at a glance
The Roadshow began in Offenburg, where art as a medium for knowledge transfer took centre stage. The MobiLab transformed into a cinema, attracted many passers-by in the Bürgerpark, and used the “River Oracle” to spark curiosity about scientific topics in a creative way. In Landau, the stop was particularly clearly focused: centred around the university information day, the everyday-relevant topic of PFAS was presented in an accessible and highly competent manner. Further south, the MobiLab appeared in Basel with a strong medical emphasis. Specially developed formats were offered for different age groups – from interactive models to applications in 3D printing, robotics, and virtual reality.
In Freiburg, the Roadshow benefited from an ideal location in public space. Here, conversations with passers-by and a successful panel discussion strengthened the exchange with actors involved in the urban environment. Another highlight was Strasbourg, where the MobiLab made full use of its potential in the Port du Rhin – a site of current urban transformation. There, science encountered people directly experiencing the day-to-day changes in their district. In Mulhouse, the focus was on school pupils, who enjoyed well-supported learning moments on water management and air quality.
The final stop was Karlsruhe, where the Roadshow was embedded in the rich programme of KIT Science Week and a collaboration with the Natural History Museum. The panel discussion once again drew strong interest and confirmed how effectively the MobiLab functions as a space for dialogue.
Looking ahead to 2027
The next edition of the Eucor MobiLab Roadshow will take place in 2027. It will build on the success factors of this year’s tour – acceptance, visibility, and stability in the trinational region.
Heine draws a clear conclusion: “We can see that the Eucor MobiLab Roadshow is reaching people – precisely because it goes to the places where questions, change, and curiosity arise.”