The Concept

How can you make concrete light? Can a robot learn from humans? And what will life be like in the future in megacities such as Delhi und Dhaka? DFG Science TV presents answers to these questions and more.

In the spring and summer of 2008, researchers working on ten extraordinary research projects from a wide variety of disciplines spent three months presenting their work in three-minute shorts.
The special thing about these films is that the scientists were also the cameramen, resulting in films that are genuine research diaries. Week by week they tell us about the progress of their work, relate anecdotes about the problems and success stories they encountered and report what they plan to do next. The production of these DIY shorts by the scientists gives a very personal insight into their individual approaches and ways of working. The research work they were doing was on land and under water, for instance in Germany, Ecuador and Cambodia. The cameras that accompanied them give us a first-hand impression of the world of research and the methods used. A window on science!

Something new every week

Each week from April until June 2008 there was one new episode about each of the research projects, meaning that the shorts also form part of an ongoing story over the course of twelve weeks – keeping you tuned-in to Science TV. On the project page you, the viewer, can also follow the origins and progress of the research work as it develops, to see if there are any new findings, or the different research methods the scientists employ. Week by week the three-minute shorts formed a series, gradually coming together to form a research diary, and anyone interested in finding out more in-depth information about the researchers’ day-to-day lives and their work on the projects can do so on the project websites.

The future: Internet TV

Digital television has taken off! Videos and television content are becoming increasingly popular on the Internet. This offers new ways and opportunities to present complex subjects simply and graphically. In this sense, the first series of DFG Science TV was a pilot project that picked up on current developments and aimed to use them to enable new and personal insights into the world of science and research.

The second series sees a development of the concept behind the pilot phase of DFG Science TV. The new episodes will be launched on the Science TV portal in the early summer of 2009. For further information, please refer to the DFG’s press releases:

Science TV Brings Research to Life, 15 April 2008
DFG Science TV Successful, 6 June 2008
DFG Science TV To Be Continued, 14 January 2009
DFG Science TV Takes Gold in the Intermedia-Globe Award, 18 May 2009
DFG Science TV Starts Second Series on the Internet, 16 Juni 2009
Second Season of DFG Science TV a Success, 12 October 2009