ZEPPELIN UNIVERSITAT GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBH

Their core work

Zeppelin University (ZU) is a private German university in Friedrichshafen specialising in the intersection of culture, politics, and society — fields that sit between the humanities and social sciences. In H2020, the university contributed academic expertise in art theory, curatorial practice, political philosophy, and the public role of independent art spaces. They also bring competence in responsible research and innovation (RRI), examining how scientific knowledge is communicated to and shaped by the public through journalism and cultural institutions. Their research addresses the democratic and civic dimensions of art and culture — how art spaces function as sites of political participation, and how science earns public trust.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ZU entered H2020 participation around the responsible research and innovation agenda — examining how science is communicated publicly through journalism and museums (RETHINK, 2019). Their focus then shifted decisively toward the arts and political philosophy: independent art spaces, curatorial practice, socially engaged art, and art's relationship to democratic life (FEINART, 2020). The trajectory moves from science-society communication toward art-democracy interfaces — both are about how knowledge and culture circulate in public life, but the emphasis has shifted from science outreach to cultural and political theory.

ZU is moving deeper into the cultural and political dimensions of art — partners looking at art spaces, cultural democracy, or the civic role of cultural institutions will find a natural fit.

How they like to work

ZU participates exclusively as a consortium partner and has not led any H2020 project — a pattern consistent with a small private university contributing specialised humanistic expertise rather than managing large-scale infrastructure. Despite only two projects, they have accumulated 12 distinct consortium partners across 10 countries, suggesting they are welcomed into diverse European networks rather than working with a fixed circle of repeat partners. Working with ZU means gaining access to a theoretically grounded academic voice on culture, art, and society — not a project management hub.

With 12 unique partners across 10 countries from just two projects, ZU has a notably broad geographic footprint for its small size. Their network spans Western and Northern Europe, reflecting the pan-European scope of both the MSCA-ITN and RIA funding schemes they participated in.

What sets them apart

Zeppelin University is rare among German higher education institutions in combining business, culture, and politics as its founding pillars — it is explicitly not a traditional research university, which makes its H2020 contributions distinctively humanistic and policy-adjacent. In a landscape where most German HES participants focus on engineering or natural sciences, ZU brings art theory, curatorial studies, and political philosophy to European consortia — capabilities that are scarce and valuable when projects need cultural legitimacy or democratic framing. For any consortium dealing with arts organisations, cultural policy, or the public understanding of research, ZU offers academic credentials that most technical universities simply cannot provide.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FEINART
  The largest project by far (EUR 1,011,154), this MSCA Innovative Training Network trained a cohort of doctoral researchers on the future of independent art spaces in Europe — a timely topic given austerity pressures on cultural institutions and the political stakes of public art.
• RETHINK
  Addressed the practical challenge of how science museums and science journalists can rebuild public trust in research — a foundational RRI question that predates but anticipates post-pandemic debates about science communication.