If people are the subject of research, an ethics vote is necessary; the Technical University of Munich has set up a new commission for this purpose. Professors Klaus Bengler and Georg Schmidt examine the applications. And, if necessary, signal: not like this.
When it comes to research in the medical field, one thing is clear: no application will be approved at a university without the vote of an ethics committee. The Technical University of Munich (TUM) has had a medical ethics committee for more than 40 years, which examines applications in detail when research is to be carried out on humans. Now, around one in six research applications to this committee no longer deal with medical questions, but with topics from areas such as human-technology interactions or autonomous driving. This is why TUM has now also set up a non-medical specialist group. It is headed by Professor Klaus Bengler, chair and professor of ergonomics. Georg Schmidt, professor of cardiology at the Klinikum rechts der Isar, heads the medical ethics committee. In a joint discussion, the scientists talk about the importance of their work in the ethics committees, which they do on a voluntary basis alongside their teaching duties.