Most PhD programs equip students with in-depth theoretical and methodological knowledge to better grasp “how the world currently is” (system knowledge) and “how it ought to be” (target knowledge) on a topic under investigation. However, most PhD students typically lack an understanding of transformation knowledge to also be able to act as change agents and implement their knowledge in transforming the state of the word towards a desirable future, i.e. have societal impact. To address this gap in our current PhD education at Leuphana University, the course will embark on a transformative learning journey that allows us to experience the co-creation of solution-oriented knowledge together with different stakeholders.

On the one hand, the course will bring diverse audiences and perspective together, offering valuable insights on impact (co-)creation. On the other hand, the course offers participants a safe learning environment to experiment with solution-oriented knowledge translation.

The course is split into 3 parts: (1) An introductory session at Leuphana clarifies the course design, roles and responsibilities; (2) a 1-week field trip to interesting places in Northern Europe (Stockholm, Helsinki) offers an embodied learning experience on co-creating impact, by learning from and engaging with best-practice examples; (3) participating students present their “impact stories and/or artefacts” during a Transformation Lab event in the summer semester on campus.

This pedagogical design promotes students (1) gaining a deeper understanding on different types of knowledge and their relevance in societal transformation; (2) reflecting on the authority of science in transformative processes; and (3) learning to (co-)create societal impact in their own research.

Insights into the first course of this kind can be found on the Linkedin page of the "Regenerative Entrepreneurial Action Lab" (REAL).


To apply for a spot in this unique course you are asked to submit a motivation letter (max 2 pages) responding to the following questions:

1. Why do you pursue a PhD and what is your topic?

2. How would your PhD benefit from this course?

3. What do you envision to contribute to the co-creative learning experience?



Please send your motivation letter (in pdf format, named Surname_Name_ML) to the following email addresses: steffen.farny@leuphana.de and theres.konrad@leuphana.de latest by October 21st 2026 at noon.

Shortlisted candidates will be informed soon after. Note that the dates are still subject to slight modification. Candidates still need to confirm their active participation after acceptance.

At the end of the course, students will…
• know how to analytically and discursively approach the topic of co-creating impactful research (‘thematic deconstruction’)
• have experienced the joint generation of impact (‘interdisciplinary construction’)
• know how their own competencies and knowledge can be used for creating societal impact (‘transformative knowledge’)
• sharpened their ability and be more motivated to develop concrete solutions to real-world problems ('entrepreneurial mindset’)
• have learnt to translate one’s own research to diverse audiences (‘interdisciplinary competencies’)

Weitere Informationen zur Lehrevaluation: https://www.leuphana.de/lehre/qualitaetsmanagement/evaluation/lehrveranstaltungsevaluation.html