Marius Michel is a research associate in the joint project "DEMOKON - A Democratic Conflict Culture for the Energy Transition", where he deals with questions of public participation in energy transition infrastructure projects. His academic background lays, addition to political science, in practice-oriented participation research and public law. Furthermore, he is a certified mediator (§ 2 ZMediatAusbV). His current research interests are participation research with a special focus on the connection between theory and practice, the sustainable transformation of society, and deliberative citizen participation.