Dr Zrinka Štimac: Quantum Technology and Education: How Our Understandings of the World and Humanity Are Changing

Quantum technology is considered a product of the paradigm shift brought about by quantum mechanics – and differs fundamentally from classical technologies. It is frequently discussed in the context of disruptive transformation. But why is this relevant to the humanities, cultural studies and social sciences, and what does it mean for education?

The lecture introduces the project ‘New Conceptions of Humanity, New Ways of Thinking: Quantum Technology as a Challenge for Education’ and discusses how conceptions of the world and of the human being are shifting in the course of the still ongoing quantum transformation. At the level of educational media, analyses of school textbooks, non-fiction books for young readers and digital formats show how quantum-technological topics are being addressed – and where existing approaches reach their limits.

Looking ahead, the lecture asks how educational media and didactic approaches might be designed in future to make the social and cultural dimensions of quantum technology visible. In doing so, it connects with the critical examination of media transformation and with the question of which epistemic and methodological tools are needed to help shape education in the context of new technologies.