October 17-21, 2016

Follow-up Workshop:
Urban Transformations in the Rhine Ruhr Area  


 

After the field school on "Urban Transformations in the Rhine Ruhr Area", a two days’ workshop was held in Cologne to discuss the findings of the students’ field work. This workshop was jointly led by two researchers from India, Sucharita Sen and Milap Punia, one from India, Xue Desheng and two from Germany, Frauke Kraas and Carsten Butsch. The students presented their hypothesis, their methodology and their findings in 20 to 30 minutes’ presentations, followed by a discussion with the international researchers. The scientists gave feedback and the whole group discussed the case study of each group. This discussion also influenced the final reports of the students.

The two days’ workshop was a very intensive experience for all participants – students and teachers alike. The high quality of the students’ presentations was very impressive, therefore the whole workshop provided deep insights into several dimensions of the Ruhr Area’s ongoing transformation process. Most importantly though, the workshop was a very intensive intercultural learning experience, showing that the combination of different perspectives leads to fresh ideas. While for the Indian and Chinese students, the whole field school exposed them to a case study, they only knew from books, the German students benefited from the unprejudiced access of the foreign students to the field.