Bianka Hofmann
At Fraunhofer MEVIS, co-operating with artists and filmmakers is seen as an opportunity to facilitate emotional, positive encounters with science, share the impact of new technological developments, reach diverse and new audiences, and create contemporary science engagement formats.
Bianka Hofmann initiates, produces, and directs intersectional projects that leverage deep scientific knowledge within programs, productions, services, and workshops across science, health, and digital medicine, software, (higher) education, art, and public engagement. She challenges audiences of diverse backgrounds to develop self-efficacy when dealing with science and tech for a more diverse and inclusive research and development landscape. She designed and leads an international artist residency program and participatory STEAM courses at a research institution to stimulate critical dialog and widen the ownership of new technologies. The residency program integrates school students and enables them to engage with current science, technology, and art in a self-motivated, creative way. She studied Comparative Religion and Biology at the University of Bremen. These studies included aspects of Behavioral Biology, Bioacoustics, Cognitive Science, Neurobiology, Marine Biology, Theory of Religion and Culture, and Theory of Science. They led to a Ph.D. admission based on a "Degree Equivalent to a Mathematical-Scientific Study" and a "Diploma in Comparative Religion." She focused on communication in highly evolved mammals, interspecies communication, neurobiology of teaching and learning, and evolution of symbol building, conducting several field studies on Pilot Whales, and writing her interdisciplinary Diploma thesis on ritualization. She has published scientifically in behavioral biology, visualization, and art, tech, and science, is trained as a cognitive behavioral coach, has also run her own companies, and works presently as Head of Science Communication at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS.