Berlin Science Week
1—10 Nov 2021 Berlin Science Week

Can science include us all? How can the role of society in scientific practice and constructive dialogue be enhanced? How important is equality in science? Is open data a blessing or a threat? How can we immunize citizens to fake news? Does citizen peer reviewing of scientific articles really help?…

We are at a cusp of change in the way in which we fundamentally understand the opportunity which living materials present today.  We are also at a very exciting juncture when it comes to the latest developments to integrate smart materials into our built environment. For example, façades with shape…

What would you do if you invented a time machine? Would you travel back to the past to alter history or fix mistakes? Or would you rather jump forward, to collect future knowledge and bring back advanced technologies? Led by the audience, these and other challenging questions were asked to…

Since the start of the Scientific Revolution nearly five centuries ago our understanding of the world and our ability to manipulate it have massively increased. This has led to huge improvements in our capacity to harness energy, produce material goods, fight diseases and feed a rapidly growing population. Life expectancy…

In recent years, Berlin and other comparable cities have sounded the alarm over the disappearance of alternative spaces and clubs as a symptom of a fundamental change in urban society. Gentrification, housing shortages, rising rents and changing demographics make it more and more difficult to find and maintain places that…

Who are your role models in science? And how do they look like? To be honest – it really doesn’t matter how they look like. Because #science looks like YOU. Watch the docuseries “Not the Science Type” featuring four inspiring female scientists as they made their way in fields ranging…

The new Einstein Center Climate Change and Public Policy of Human Settlements (ECCC, in formation) is a public policy oriented research center designed to harness and further develop the unique potential of the Berlin Brandenburg region, its landscape of universities and various non-university institutes and stakeholders. Public policy is in…

Diversity management, gender equality and internationalization have become guiding principles for almost all scientific institutions, especially in Berlin. At the beginning of the year, DFG President Katja Becker stressed that diversity and excellence are inseparable concepts for her. However, it remains true that the further up the career ladder you…

High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is Europe’s most active seed stage investor for highly innovative technologies across all sectors with a total of around 900 million euros under management in three fund generations. We invest in people, provide them with venture capital to implement their high-tech ideas and innovative business models. Investing…

What needs to be done? Rapidly evolving digital technology and data science have started to transform our lifestyles. In the context of our health, they have been partially successful in promoting our biological health, so that we might live on to beyond 100 years old. Advanced technologies have enabled us…

Do genetically identical individuals living in the same environment develop identical behaviors? And what role does individuality play in shaping the collective behavior of a flock of birds or a school of fish? In this talk, David Bierbach presented results from fascinating experiments with a clonal fish, the Amazon molly (Poecilia…

All life known to us is based on the function of proteins. The complex interactions of these small “all-rounders” on the scale of nanometers still holds a lot of secrets. Biologists, chemists and physicists of the collaborative research center CRC 1078 in Berlin are keen to unravel these secrets and…

We are familiar with humanitarian aid work primarily through appeals for donations and through political action in the media. But there is much more to it than funding (inputs) or the political framework. Less well known is the fact that logistics can take up to 80% of the budget in…

Worldwide, humans live longer, thus, the share of older adults increases. This leads to a shift in health care from acute diseases to chronic conditions and long-term care. Parallel, people live increasingly in urban areas. Population density and heterogeneity are high in urban areas; traditional family structures are less common.…

New technologies enable easy and efficient editing of DNA sequences and ultra-fast sequencing of whole genomes. Recent advances in vaccine development yielded mRNA vaccines; potential applications include the promise to confer protection against various infectious diseases and to instil hope in combating cancer. Molecular technologies with the potential for biomedical…

What can scientists and the institutions they work for do to respond to the distrust and mis-information in science around the world? Our panel looks at what has worked and why science communication is in need of a revolution. This session explores the latest evidence on how the public builds…

For the better part of four decades, national leaders and their citizens have been warned that human activities are causing our planet to heat up – and that, if we do not change our ways, our descendants will have to cope with a harsh – possibly uninhabitable – environment.  Despite…

“Blueprint for Peace in the C21st: So little done, but it’s not too late” – A lecture by Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics and Political Science It is now more than 20 years since the UN Security…

How a novel approach helps combat the COVID-19 pandemic With almost five million suspected deaths worldwide and counting, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the deadliest disasters in human history. Once its global spread and destructive force became clear at the beginning of 2020, scientists around the world…

On the occasion of Berlin Science Week 2021, LAS (Light Art Space) hosted a conversation between artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Dr Kim Mortega from the Natural History Museum, moderated by guest curator Emma Enderby and introduced by Dr Bettina Kames, Director of LAS. They will discuss the LAS commission Berl-Berl…

The development of a quantum computer is one of the main issues of the entire technological world. A quantum computer will make it possible to synthesize new materials and medications, as well as to model complex molecules and solve optimization problems that are now inaccessible to the most powerful computers.…

How an artificial intelligence can become a truly musical companion Music has long been hailed as one of the last frontiers of human creativity; and music is not just composition, but also, and equally important, expressive performance. It is the performers and the musicians who bring a piece to life,…

Promotion of gender equality drives innovation both in science and in industrial organisations. However, we miss to put our scientific knowledge into practice. We must find ways to innovate our recruiting, work processes and most importantly our understanding of leadership. Thus, in this panel we will explore the questions: How…

In a world of increasing technological turmoil, the human ability to frame and then make decisions offers unprecedented opportunity. Professor Francis de Véricourt, director of the Center for Decisions, Models and Data at ESMT and holder of the President’s Chair, presented his recent findings on decision-making as published in his…

Panel discussion with Prof. Heike Klüver, Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS and  Professor of Comparative Political Behavior at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Dr. Katrin Schmelz, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Cluster of Excellence “Politics of  Inequality”, Universität Konstanz, Prof. Mujaheed Shaikh, Professor of Health Governance at Hertie School, and Dr. Martin Bergfelder,…

The Plenary Table “Unlocking Pathways to a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy” will explore the challenges and opportunities that may arise from the successful deployment of hydrogen technologies aimed at building more resilient economies and energy systems, while ensuring climate neutrality. We want to draw attention to upscaling energy production from renewable…

Human rights bodies usually examine cases brought by individuals who have been impacted in a specific way by an act of their home State. By contrast, a new and atypical kind of case is currently emerging before domestic and international human rights bodies around the world. These are cases in which…

How humanity’s destiny can be framed by shared heritages through oceanic connections How can we think of the world as composed of categories derived from particular spaces and lifeworlds, rather than a space with categories seen as universal? How do we move beyond contingent formations, like nations and the triad…

The initiative “Research in Germany” – together with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) – organised an event for all 100 Finalists of the Falling Walls Lab and other guests to inform them on research possibilities in Germany. Watch the session and learn more…

How can a unifying vision be forged to create a roadmap for transatlantic science & technology? How can barriers in international cooperation be resolved to support global science diplomacy? The Plenary Table “Big Science for the Future – Rekindling Transatlantic Partnerships” will unite major leaders and visionaries from national labs,…

Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world: Many millions of tons of concrete are used every year.  But it has its downsides: Up to 8% of the world’s CO2 comes from the production of concrete.  If the concrete industry were a country, it would be the third…

Sustainable development is one of the biggest global challenges of our time. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the European Union’s European Green Deal address the global challenges we face today and provide the framework to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They highlight the need…

The term climate crisis is increasingly replacing the term climate change – a shift that makes the magnitude of the future challenge even clearer. This challenge can only be met if science, society, politics and business pull together. And so, following the historical efforts of Theodore Roosevelt’s “New Deal” policy…

Eruptions and earthquakes have left their mark on the city of Naples. How have these disasters shaped the city’s art and architecture and the mindset of people living with natural threats? Max Planck Lecture with Dr. Elisabetta Scirocco, Bibliotheca Hertziana, Max Planck Institute for Art History,  Rome A consistent part…

Come and wander around Museo del Hongo’s magical digital forest and discover the mysteries of the Fungi Kingdom through digital artworks from their archive. Digital platforms have gained enormous value over the last two years, namely because of confinement and social restrictions brought by the pandemic. However, the way in…

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, significant changes within existing city structures (like urban spaces) have become even more noticeable, therefore reinforcing the demand for novel visions as well as (system) innovations for metropolitan areas. The Plenary Table “The Future of Work and Urban Planning: Designing Innovative Interventions” will…

It was “Legged!” at the Museum für Naturkunde. The new show of the scientific variety show Glitzern & Denken is dedicated to the most species-rich class of animals on our planet: insects. As different as they may look, they have a lot in common. The museum’s collection itself includes 15…

What is platform economy and how is it changing the world of work? Delivery and on-demand online services have become a flagship of platform work and a lucrative enterprise model. With the current revenue of 204 billion US dollars and growing exponentially, platform economy is expected to show a double…

For those wishing to set their foot in the world of academia, the next step after a PhD degree is moving to PostDoc. Highly skilled and versatile, a role of a PostDoc professional can include everything from working in the lab to teaching university courses or mentoring students. PostDoc tenure…

With 390 billion trees and over 3 million living species, the Amazon rainforest is the true testament to the majestic beauty and versatility of nature. Hidden in its depths dwells ATTO or the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, the world’s tallest scientific construction used to study meteorological, chemical and biological processes…

In our next Deep Dive video, Eike Roswag-Klinge, Professor for Constructive Design & Climate Adaptive Architecture at Natural Building Lab (Technische Universität Berlin), gives insights into resource-adaptive architecture and how it can positively shape the building sector of today.   Architecture is an intrinsic part of our everyday life. It…

What is Open Science and why does it matter, especially in the face of major challenges like the pandemic? In our next Deep Dive video, Stephanie Dawson, CEO of the web platform ScienceOpen discusses the potential of open access research and how it contributes to science collaboration worldwide. Scientists have…

What can humans learn from fish and their swarm behaviour? David Bierbach from Science of Intelligence is introducing a unique and extremely social robotic fish – the ROBOFISH – in our new Deep Dive video format. The fish helps unravel the collective patterns of animal groups and provides insights that…

How can plants, in particular in times of rapid climate change, become part of a political idea and help move away from anthropocentric notions of freedom? Zheng Bo, in House: Artist in Residence 2020 at the Gropius Bau will answer these questions in our Expert Talk.

“From hundreds of thousands of health apps, how do we know which to choose?” and “What is needed for a wise integration of apps into health care?” Claudia Witt from the University of Zurich will answer all these questions in our Expert Talk.

“How to develop a protein into a drug” and “How does a machine like BESSYII​ support the current SARS​-COV2 research?” We discussed these and other questions in the heart of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin in our Expert Talk.