Bridges instead of barriers

New ways of knowledge transfer and social innovation in media education

Abstract

In his contribution, Christian Filk analyzes a groundbreaking expert discussion on knowledge transfer in media education that took place in Berlin on March 7, 2025. Filk documents the discussion on the „transfer gap“ organized by the Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit) and the Media Education Section of the German Society for Educational Science (DGfE). His elaborations focus on the systematic identification of transfer barriers and the development of concrete solution strategies. Christian Filk describes the keynote presentations on the concept of social innovation and various transfer projects, and reflects on the results of group discussions in which structural deficits were analyzed and innovative solution approaches were developed. He advocates for a paradigm shift from linear to dialogical transfer models and concludes with the insight that effective knowledge transfer in media education requires a fundamental transformation of research and educational culture – away from isolated projects toward a dynamic ecosystem with equal partnership between science and practice.