![[Translate to English:] Dr. Svenja Schütt mit der Preisträger-Statue „Gedankenblitz“.](/fileadmin/_processed_/a/0/csm_Schuett_Kulturpreis_Bayern_54988b721e.webp)
"This year's prizewinners from the university landscape once again deliver a firework display of science. That is impressive. With our award, we want to motivate everyone to continue on their ambitious path", says Dr. Egon Leo Westphal, CEO of Bayernwerk AG. The Bavarian Minister of Art and Science, Markus Blume, emphasizes: "33 new stars in the Bavarian research sky: With their wealth of ideas, the prizewinners invigorate our science location. This shows: Our universities are hubs of talent and innovation. I wish all graduates the very best for their future. Keep up the good work – you are the future of our country!"
Exchange across generations – at first glance, the subject area of Dr. Svenja Schütt's doctoral thesis seems trivial in its everyday nature. However, the resulting questions are highly relevant both in a social and scientific context. After all, mutual support between the generations is at the heart of all human interaction. Unfortunately, the naturalness of contact and intergenerational learning has been lost in many places due to social changes. The causes include demographic change and changing living conditions. The concept of extended families has become the exception, meaning that parents, children and grandchildren often live far away from each other.
The issue of bringing generations together is also omnipresent in employment and voluntary work and is increasingly being pushed politically. Both fields of application present similar opportunities and challenges. Although intergenerational learning is a much-discussed concept, it has hardly been scientifically substantiated to date. Due to a lack of relevant studies, Dr. Svenja Schütt left the field of empirical psychology in her research and initially examined hundreds of sources in related areas. Building on this, she developed a theoretical model and applied it to four extensive studies on volunteering and employment with a total of over 1,000 participants.
The evaluation essentially shows: An intergenerational exchange initiated by volunteering or gainful employment has various positive effects on the individuals, organizations and society involved. Generational learning plays a special role, for example, in the willingness to get involved, empathy towards other generations or the meaning of life experienced. At the same time, the series of studies shows that this is particularly the case in well-organized framework conditions. Organizing the exchange is particularly challenging in volunteer projects, as the divergent needs of all generations have to be taken into account equally.
Dr. Svenja Schütt's doctoral thesis thus offers tangible starting points for the design of intergenerational exchange in the context of paid and unpaid work. "The findings clearly show how relevant intergenerational contact is – we simply cannot and must not do without it; not in society, not in the economy, and above all not as individuals", emphasizes Schütt.
The Bavarian Cultural Prize ceremony is broadcast live from Munich's Eisbach Studios on Thursday, November 16, from 7 p.m. at https://bayernwerk-live.de/kulturpreis-bayern/. All prizewinners receive the bronze statue "Gedankenblitz" (flash of inspiration) sculpted by Schwandorf sculptor Peter Mayer. While an expert jury selects the five art prize winners, the Bavarian state colleges, art colleges and universities nominate their best graduates and doctoral students.