Annual Report 2024

By embedding democratic values into technology’s design, application, and governance, we ensure that innovations remain both impactful and responsible. We cultivate a community of experts dedicated to the public interest and build innovation networks that thrive on collaboration, experimentation, and learning. Through co-design with diverse stakeholders, we drive forward technological solutions that tackle society’s most critical challenges.

Since April 2022, we have incubated a total of 11 labs and working groups at the TUM Think Tank. These have involved around 50 professors as well as 50 postdocs and PhD students from the Munich School for Politics and Public Policy, five TUM Schools, and the campuses in Straubing and Heilbronn. 

In 2023, our labs and programs successfully secured approximately EUR 4.2 million in third-party funding. This includes projects such as “QuantWorld” in the Quantum Social Lab (funded by the BMBF with EUR 1.9 million) and “Smart Sustainable Cities” in the Urban Digitainability Lab (funded by the Mercator Foundation with EUR 1.2 million).

In 2024, our labs and programs have raised approximately EUR 5.4 million in third-party funding. This includes projects such as “AI4POL” (funded by EU Horizon with EUR 3.0 million) and “Hemispheres” (funded by Erasmus+ with EUR 1.5 million).

At the TUM Think Tank, we believe that technology must be built for and in the public interest—empowering democratic societies and institutions, advancing sustainability and equity, and fostering resilience in an interconnected world. Our approach is rooted in interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration, emphasizing the cultivation of communities and practices dedicated to public interest, and building innovation systems that thrive on collaboration, experimentation, and co-learning.Through co-design and co-creation with stakeholders from academia, civil society, industry, and the public sector, we address some of society’s most critical challenges, focusing on building responsible technologies.