Knowledge Transfer hei_INNOVATION Lunch & Learn: KlarText Award Winners Share Insights into Research and Science Communication

March 12, 2026
Published by hei_INNOVATION

At the latest “Lunch & Learn” event held at the hei_INNOVATION Studio on February 24, 2026, research, science communication, and interdisciplinary perspectives took center stage. Under the title “KlarText at Lunchtime,” KlarText award winners Letitia Parcalabescu and Steffen Knoblauch were invited to speak about their research projects and share their experiences with science communication.

At the beginning of the event, moderator Hannes Rüskamp from hei_INNOVATION introduced the KlarText Award for Science Communication of the Klaus Tschira Foundation. Each year, the award honors young researchers who explain the topic of their dissertation in a text that is accessible to a broad audience. The aim is to make scientific content more accessible and to encourage researchers to communicate their work in a clear and understandable way.

Letitia Parcalabescu, a computer scientist now working at Aleph Alpha Research, explained in her talk how artificial intelligence systems recognize and interpret images. She discussed how machines learn to process visual information and the challenges that arise in doing so. Steffen Knoblauch from the Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology (HeiGIT) presented his research on the use of geodata and satellite imagery and described how artificial intelligence can help better understand and combat the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever. 

The subsequent discussion with the audience focused on the importance of science communication. Both researchers emphasized how important it is to make complex research — especially work with practical applications — accessible to a wider audience. Letitia Parcalabescu puts this into practice through the format of her YouTube channel AI Coffee Break, which explains topics related to artificial intelligence in an accessible way. Through his work at HeiGIT, Steffen Knoblauch specifically develops applications that support environmental initiatives, society, and humanitarian projects.

During the discussion with participants, both guests also shared their experiences applying for the KlarText Award. “Go for it!” was their message to early-career researchers considering science communication themselves. Applying for the KlarText Award is straightforward, they explained, and the writing process itself can already be valuable: explaining one’s research to a broad audience encourages researchers to look at their own findings from a new perspective.  They also emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary work for the development of research ideas and projects. Research becomes particularly impactful when knowledge successfully translates into practical application — whether through science videos, open educational resources, or practice-oriented projects that address concrete societal challenges.