New roles, new goals? Interplay of University collections between research, finance and politics

The 15th Annual Conference for University Collections 2024 will be held jointly by ETH Zurich, theUniversity Zurich and the Society for University Collections e.V. (GfU) from 13–15 June 2024 in Zurich.

In a rapidly changing world, university collections are currently facing numerous challenges and influencing factors.

The role of science in political debates has become particularly clear, not least in the corona pandemic or in the debate about climate change. Scientific findings and recommendations influence political decisions and measures. Political decisions are based not only on scientific findings, but also on other factors such as social values, economic considerations and political interests.

Against this backdrop, we are exploring the following questions at the 15th Conference for Scientific University Collections: Where and how are the university collections located within this area of tension? Should university collections contribute to political debates and if so, how? And how can we simultaneously ensure that they carry out basic research and continue to fulfill their role as knowledge repositories and as research and teaching infrastructures?

What role do the personal experiences and perspectives of the curators, researchers and teachers play in the compilation, interpretation and preservation of collections? How do the needs and perspectives of different target groups (students, scientists, the public, sponsors, donors) impact collection work and making the collections accessible both analogue and digitally? What communication and public relations work do university collections do and to what extent do they face the influence of politics, society and finance?