The “BW Collection Day” is a series of workshops on scientific collections in Baden-Württemberg organized by the Baden-Württemberg University Collections Working Group. On November 7, 2025, it took place at the University of Stuttgart. The hosts were Prof. Jens Wirth and Katja Stefanie Engstler (Department of Mathematics / Collections of Mathematical Models and Instruments) as well as Klemens Krause (Stuttgart Computer Museum).
Vice Dean Prof. Bernadette Hahn-Rigaud welcomed the collection curators from various universities in Baden-Württemberg. This was followed by a lecture on “All about collections: concepts, organization, quality, ownership, and deaccessioning” and lively discussions about new approaches and successful solutions in collection work. Afterwards, Prof. Jens Wirth presented the department's mathematical model collection using various collection items. The demonstrations of the mathematical instruments were exciting, as Prof. Wirth not only explained them but also showed them in action. The collection day was rounded off with a short tour of the Computer Museum. Despite the packed program, there was still enough time for the collection curators from the various universities to exchange ideas and network.
The Working Group of University Collections in Baden-Württemberg
In their dual role as research infrastructure and science communication, university museums and collections form a type of institution with its own needs and challenges. While the University of Tübingen has created a progressive foundation for the close structural integration of scientific collections into research, teaching, and public outreach with the central institution of the Museum of the University of Tübingen (MUT), many collection curators are left to their own devices when it comes to tapping into the significant scientific potential of the objects. The workshop series, established in 2019, serves to promote networking and regular exchange between representatives of the scientific collections and museums of the universities in Baden-Württemberg. The aim is to strengthen the core tasks of scientific collections and thus the research infrastructure in Baden-Württemberg. Collection curators from Freiburg, Furtwangen, Heidelberg, Hohenheim, Konstanz, Mannheim, Pforzheim, Reutlingen, Stuttgart, Tübingen, and Ulm are already involved in this effort as part of the BW Collection Day.
