New podcast mini-series starting soon: Interview with host John Pye

The very first series of the TUM Institute for LifeLong Learning podcast is called “Sustainability. Time to Change.” In six episodes, our hosts John Pye and Thomas Münch talked with members of the TUM community about their vision of how their work can help to improve the world we live in. After a short summer break, we are delighted to share that the next series is about to start soon! What exciting topic we are covering this time? Find out in the interview with John Pye below. 

The Institute for LifeLong Learning has found its voice – with our very own podcast! How did the idea of making a podcast come about in the first place?

Thomas and I had the original idea for the podcast when thinking about ways we could connect with our community. We have (and have had!) a fantastic series of live events as part of our Learning Festival here at the Institute, but we wanted to compliment these with additional “static” content which could be accessed at any time.

… and where better than TUM to have such a podcast? There is so much happening at the university, a great range and depth of research. The TUM community is blessed with fantastic people looking to change the world we live in and we see the Institute as the perfect platform to tell their stories.

What do you hope to achieve with the podcast series, who is it for?

We want to create a collection of mini-series which showcase the excellence of the university, while shining a light on important and exciting topics. Thomas and I like to think of each episode as short impulses, translating the expertise of our fantastic researchers into bite-sized half hour discussions.

The series is for all of our community. We want to give greater insight into how research is changing the world for the better, and to provide inspiration for those looking to satisfy their curiosity and explore topics that perhaps they hadn’t even considered before. We want the podcasts to act as a gateway to further learning… which is why we do always press our guests for further resources!

The first podcast series is called “Sustainability. Time to Change.” Why was sustainability the first topic you wanted to discuss with the TUM community in the podcast?

Sustainability is a massive topic, not just within TUM, but for the whole world. At the university we have an excellent vantage point and are well placed to lead the discussion on the changes we, as a wider society, need to make. We have researchers in almost every branch of natural science, chemistry, engineering, architecture, mobility, politics, urban planning and more.There is a certain urgency in the way we need to approach sustainability topics, and as a central plank of the university’s mission for the next decade, Thomas and I felt it was a good place to start!

What was the most important thing you learned for yourself during the series?

That is difficult to say! There were so many moments in the first six episodes where – during the research, pre-reading guests sent over and indeed in the recording themselves – we found some of our assumptions and prior knowledge of sustainability challenged.

The thing we found most important, and perhaps most daunting, is the scale of the topic. Almost no areas of life are left untouched by the need to cut carbon emissions, improve infrastructure and find innovative ways to enable a more sustainable society. Through our guests we have felt a cautious optimism around the momentum of sustainable change, but there is so much to do … so it is just as well we have so many great people working in their various areas.

What can listeners expect after the short summer break?

After the short break we are full steam ahead with our next mini-series: “The Competitive Edge”. A slight change in gear from our sustainability podcast, we want to explore the world of competitive sport and through our community, examine the ways in which science is driving success, supporting athletes and changing the world of sports. The first episode of our new series is due for release next Friday: We hope to catch our listeners in the heat of summer to inspire their own sporting activities as they take full advantage of the holiday sun!

Find out more about our podcast here and don’t miss “The Competitive Edge”.