Interest Groups
BR50 sees itself as an agile organization: interest groups operate in response to specific situations and topics, irrespective of which unit they belong to. This mode of action enables BR50 to operate quickly and flexibly, deploying its broad network and multiplier effect to support politics and science.
BR50 was established with the aim to foster the cooperation among the non-university institutions in Berlin and to jointly develop strategies for research and for the exchange with politics and society. Together with the universities associated in the BUA, BR50 wants to emphasize common opportunities and collaboration potentials in order to create an integrated research area Berlin as well as to strengthen Berlin towards an international important science metropolis that stands international competition.
Berlin offers a diverse research landscape. BR50 is interdisciplinary and covers all research areas required to address technological, ecological and social challenges. The aim and purpose of the BR50 Interest Group Program is to pool this diversity in an inter- and transdisciplinary way in order to jointly address important and current scientific and societal issues.
The Interest Group Program develops impulses for thematic cooperation and drives the strategic and programmatic development of BR50 as a network.
Activities
The ideas for the thematic priorities were developed in several discussions like the BR50 Units and the BR50 General Assembly in September 2021 - including the BR50 position paper - and were taken up by the Interest Group Program in meetings at the end of 2021 and in January 2022. A series of events is planned for 2022 through which BR50 would like to play an active role in helping to address societal challenges.
Die Interst Group Progamm has agreed on a BR50 slogan that shows why a network of non-university research institutions is needed, what BR50 stands for and what the goals are for the network, but also for the research area Berlin:
Berlin Research - for a fair, healthy, and sustainable future
BR50 is drawing on the uniqueness of Berlin’s diverse science landscape to promote research and the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Together with the universities, Brandenburg´s research institutions and the public BR50 works to position the Berlin-Brandenburg area as one of the leading European metropolises in science, higher education, and development. Solving social and global challenges require cross-institutional and interdisciplinary collaborations. New methods and technologies are as necessary as are deeper understandings of the different cultural and historical ways of human sense-making in order to create a fair, healthy and sustainable future.
Contact
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the Interest Groups, please contact the BR50 offices.
Contact:
Dr. Anja Sommerfeld
BR50 Office Berlin Adlershof
sommerfeld[at]fv-berlin[dot]de
Dr. Gregor Hofmann
BR50 Branch Office Berlin Mitte
gregor.hofmann[at]wzb[dot]eu
Science communication and transfer into the society have been an important part of BR50 from the very beginning. Therefore, the founding coordinators and the BR50 offices are in regular exchange with the press departments of the member institutions. Here, strategies are developed and measures discussed on how to make BR50 and its mission visible and known in Berlin's scientific, economic, political and social communities.
In addition to maintaining online and social media channels, press and public relations work also includes the implementation of a podcast and public events, for example as part of Berlin Science Week. However, short-term press releases (e.g. on the position paper) and statements on topics relevant to science policy (e.g. on the resignation of Prof. Kunst as president of the HU and on Russia's attack on the Ukraine) are also part of the tasks of the Interest Group Science Communication & Knowledge Transfer.
A large transfer project is currently being planned. Under the leadership of the WZB and with the support of the BR50 offices, a group of institutions work together on an application within the framework of the German Year of Science 2023.
Furthermore, an exchange with the Stiftung Planetarium Berlin started and a cooperation is envisioned and joint transfer formats will be developed.
A meeting of the representatives of the press and communication departments of the BR50 institutions is planned for August 29 at WZB Berlin.
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the IG Science Communication & Knowledge Transfer, please contact the BR50 offices or the press officers of the founding institutions.
Contact:
Dr. Anja Sommerfeld
BR50 Office Berlin Adlershof
sommerfeld[at]fv-berlin[dot]de
Dr. Gregor Hofmann
BR50 Branch Office Berlin Mitte
gregor.hofmann[at]wzb[dot]eu
In a statement on February 26, the BR50 coordinators expressed their solidarity with the people on the ground as well as those who are working for free science and cultural exchange in Ukraine and also in Russia. The coordinators reaffirmed this position on March 3 in a statement of solidarity with an open letter of Russian scientists in view of the war against Ukraine (see at News).
At a BR50 internal networking meeting on March 4 (on the initiative of the Centre Marc Bloch and supported by BR50 offices), it was agreed to create a BR50 mailing list, through which those institutions can network on a case-by-case basis that would in principle be willing to host Ukrainian researchers or to support them in applying for funding. The aim is also to explore possible joint offers for inquiring scientists (e.g. shared funding for a few months or similar). BR50 institutions wishing to be added to this distribution should contact the BR50 offices.
In addition, a round table on Ukraine was held on March 14 at the invitation of BUA. Coordinator Ulrich Panne spoke on behalf of BR50. It became clear that so far there is no central coordinating body for help from academia for Ukrainians. The exchange is to be continued and strategies for cooperation will be developed.
Activities
30 June 2022 – Berlin4Ukraine
In cooperation with the Berlin Center for Global Engagement of the Berlin University Alliance, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, several of Berlins Clusters of Excellence – including SCRiPTS and NeuroCure – as well as the German-Ukrainian Academic Society, BR50 organized the event "Berlin4Ukraine" on June 30th, 2022.
The aim of the networking and information event was to provide an overview and practical assistance on the German and Berlin science systems to researchers that had to flee from Ukraine. Moreover, the participants had the opportunity to network with each other, but also with institutions of the Berlin science landscape. Funding organizations such as the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Einstein Foundation Berlin and the German Academic Exchange Service, as well as universities and some non-university research institutions were on site to explain their programs at information desks. Refugee Ukrainian academics were invited to share their experiences. The event was concluded by a panel discussion on ways to support the science system in Ukraine and to advance research cooperation in the future. Prof. Dr. Katharina Bluhm (Institute for East European Studies / FU Berlin) moderated the panel, on which Prof. Dr. Heribert Hofer (Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research), Rozaliia Tarnovetckaia (Institute of Vocational Education and Work Studies / TU Berlin), Dr. Judith Wellen (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation) and Prof. Dr. Leonid Yatsenko (formerly National Research Foundation of Ukraine) engaged in a lively debate. Videos of the event can be accessed via BR50’s YouTube channel.
Others:
- BR50 supports the initiative #ScienceForUkraine and would like to encourage all member institutions to register on that platform and promote their support activities, like open positions, stipends, scholarships and language courses. The webpage serves a network pool to connect Ukrainian scientists with German and international research institutions. The Website collects the support activities for Ukrainian scientists from all over the world and functions as networking platform.
Further platforms to post job vacancies are: https://www.euraxess.de/ukraine and https://www.jobaidukraine.com/.
Furthermore, there is a moderated list where labs from all over the world publish available positions for Ukrainian scientists.
- A variety of BR50 institutions and its umbrella organizations are very committed to provide support for Ukrainian researcher. We encourage you to visit the websites of the BR50 institutions and find information about their relief efforts. At short notice, many BR50 institutions and the corresponding umbrella organizations set up jobs with short-term contracts in an unbureaucratic manner to allow quick hosting of Ukrainian scientists. The housing situation in Berlin is very tense and therefore, it is difficult to accommodate refugees. However, many employees of the BR50 institutions offered their private guest rooms and secondary residences. Many BR50 institutions became very active and got involved in fundraising activities or initiate relief offers. The activities were not limited to large-scale campaigns to collect funding and consumables but as well, supported staff members in volunteering. There were several fundraising activities and calls, like organizing charity cake sale, aid transports to national borders or support and assistance in securing scientific samples and data from Ukraine.
For example, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) provided, through the Tierpark Berlin and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, institutional veterinary support for the convoy to Ukraine Zoos.
- BR50 regularly coordinates with the partners of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) regarding support services. The BUA also informs on its website about current initiatives and offers of the universities for students and researchers affected by the war:
https://www.berlin-university-alliance.de/en/ukraine/index.html
Contact
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the Interest Groups, please contact the BR50 offices.
Contact:
Dr. Anja Sommerfeld
BR50 Office Berlin Adlershof
sommerfeld[at]fv-berlin[dot]de
Dr. Gregor Hofmann
BR50 Branch Office Berlin Mitte
gregor.hofmann[at]wzb[dot]eu
The term artificial intelligence (AI) has been on everyone's lips for years and is thus no longer just fiction, but object of current research and real-life applications. AI has thus made the leap from science to politics and society, is widely discussed and considered as one of the most exciting research fields of the future, not only in the natural sciences and technical disciplines, but also in the social sciences and humanities.
In the technical and engineering disciplines, AI is applied in regards to autonomous driving and in natural sciences, AI and machine learning are used for material sciences and crystal growth. In the life sciences, AI supports the simulation of complex structures based on gene sequences or the identification of diseases by applying image recognition. The social sciences and humanities benefit from new research fields resulting from the ability to use automatic structuring and evaluation of large texts generated e.g. by social media platforms and digital archives.
However, not only the usage and application of AI, including related ethic, social and legal questions, are of interest, but also the research field of developing AI itself and the transition of research and science caused by using AI as method, need to be considered in that context .
The BR50 Interest Group Artificial Intelligence is working towards a platform supporting the thematic linkage across all disciplines that furthermore involves the economy, start-ups and the Berlin government. This network is essential to support establishing the research field in Berlin and to meet the social challenges.
Activities
BR50 Workshop on Artificial Intelligence in Research – December 13th 2021
Experts from all topics were invited to the BR50 Workshop on AI to give short presentations that introduce the diverse research fields in terms of:
- AI, machine learning, and technological challenges
- Applications of AI and machine learning
- AI and Data Science in Health and Life Sciences
- AI, society and culture
The participants got an overview about the status of research, especially taking place in Berlin, and could use the opportunity for further networking and starting collaboration. The workshop was a kickoff for the content-related BR50 Interest Group Artificial Intelligence.
Contact
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the Interest Groups, please contact the BR50 offices.
Contact:
Dr. Anja Sommerfeld
BR50 Office Berlin Adlershof
sommerfeld[at]fv-berlin[dot]de
Dr. Gregor Hofmann
BR50 Branch Office Berlin Mitte
gregor.hofmann[at]wzb[dot]eu
In dealing with the Corona pandemic, non-university research institutions also face enormous challenges. Many of them are dealing directly or indirectly with the pandemic and its effects. As employers, it is important to digitalize processes as far as possible and shift them to the home office. At the same time, institutions must make the conditions for researchers as secure as possible, for example with regard to the use of laboratories and other infrastructures. And last but not least, new ways must be found to enable the exchange among researchers that is essential for science.
Activities
As Interest Group Corona Task Force, the coordinators of the BR50 units closely exchange information on this.
BR50 advises the Senate Administration as a member of the Senate Task Force on how to deal with the corona pandemic in Berlin as a science hub.
In addition, the BR50 offices coordinated the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine provided by the Berlin Senate for the non-university research institutions in Berlin. The vaccination campaign was successfully implemented in July and August 2021 in collaboration with the Charité.
At the Berlin Science Week 2020, BR50 also held a public panel debate entitled How much home office can science take? to take stock of the changed research conditions in the context of a global pandemic.
Contact
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the Interest Groups, please contact the BR50 offices.
Contact:
Dr. Anja Sommerfeld
BR50 Office Berlin Adlershof
sommerfeld[at]fv-berlin[dot]de
Dr. Gregor Hofmann
BR50 Branch Office Berlin Mitte
gregor.hofmann[at]wzb[dot]eu
The non-university institutions in Berlin are very attractive to international researchers - as research and training sites, as employers, and also for visiting research stays. In addition, BR50 institutions are also involved in strategic international collaborations, such as the Oxford-Berlin Research Partnership. At the same time, individual BR50 institutions maintain a variety of institutional collaborative relationships around the world.
But how can Berlin be promoted more strongly as an international research location? How can international researchers receive even better support during their stay in Berlin? And what opportunities are there for collaboration in order to bundle the cultivation of contacts in the wake of researchers' stays in Berlin? These are the questions addressed by the Interest Group on International Issues. It serves as a forum for the exchange of experience among those responsible for internationalization issues at the BR50 institutions.
Ursula Westphal (IGAFA) and Claudia Eggert (BAM) have been appointed as coordinators of the Interest Group International. The Interest Group is supported by the BR50 offices. If you have any questions or suggestions or if you are interested in participating in the Interest Group, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Activities
15 June 2022
The Interest Group International Issues invited Prof. Dr. Çiğdem İşsever, Berlin’s Academic Director of the Oxford-Berlin Cooperation, to join their meeting on June 15th at the Ibero-America Institute of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Prof. Dr. İşsever reported on how the partnership between the two scientific metropolises is taking shape. A new Memorandum of Understanding between the Berlin University Alliance and the University of Oxford is in preparation and is expected to be signed by the end of the year. An Addendum is planned to be attached to the MoU, which will provide a framework for the BR50 institutions to participate in cooperation projects between Berlin and Oxford.
Working Group on Guest Services - Kick-Off on May 24th, 2022
The WG Guest Services is a spin-off of the IG International Issues which focuses on helping guest researchers before and during their stay in Berlin. On May 24th the WG held their first meeting in Adlershof with 15 participants. The WG identified authority paperwork, childcare and housing as main challenges for international guests. During designated follow-up meetings, each of these topics will be addressed in detail. Furthermore, the participants agreed to start an online platform to exchange best practices and information material with each other.
13 January 2022
It is intended to establish a working group on Guest Services for Spring 2022. The working group will serve as a forum for exchange on helping guests and international researchers with accommodation, providing support in dealing with authorities and medical issues, or networking between guests and internationals in the context of recreational activities, (e.g. through events). A common wiki with relevant information for visiting researchers is also envisaged.
For further meetings, exchanges on the topic of dual careers and with Berlin Partner are planned, as well as discussions with other actors in the field of international issues, such as the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the coordinators of the Berlin-Oxford partnership.
In addition, a low-threshold internal query on key figures on internationalization and central research collaborations of the BR50 institutions is planned.
The next meeting is scheduled for March/April 2022.
03 September 2021
The first meeting of the Interest Group International Issues was held in person at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). A large number of BR50 institutions were represented. It quickly became apparent that depending on the size of the institutions, the topic of internationalization is addressed to varying extents. However, all participants agreed that networking and cooperation is crucial to make Berlin attractive for international scientists.
Based on a survey conducted in advance on the status, challenges, and desires regarding the topic of internationalization, interests were identified for brainstorming. The following topics emerged as initial areas of work for the Interest Group International Issues:
- Guest relations and the support of international scientists in Berlin,
- Recruiting talents from all over the world and attracting them to Berlin,
- International research marketing to increase Berlin's visibility and expand international networks,
- Support for international research collaborations.
These issues cannot be addressed by the non-university research institutions alone, but only together with the universities and politics. Therefore, the Interest Group strives to exchange ideas with suitable partners in Berlin and beyond.
Ursula Westphal (IGAFA) and Claudia Eggert (BAM) have been appointed as coordinators of the Interest Group International Issues. The Interest Group is supported by the BR50 offices.
The next meeting is planned for late 2021/early 2022.
Contact
Ursula Westphal (IGAFA) and Claudia Eggert (BAM) have been appointed as coordinators of the Interest Group International. The Interest Group is supported by the BR50 offices. If you have any questions or suggestions or if you are interested in participating in the Interest Group, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Contact:
Dr. Anja Sommerfeld
BR50 Office Berlin Adlershof
sommerfeld[at]fv-berlin[dot]de
Dr. Gregor Hofmann
BR50 Branch Office Berlin Mitte
gregor.hofmann[at]wzb[dot]eu
The diversity of the institutes involved in BR50 and their respective structural contexts not only allows for a fruitful exchange with regard to joint research projects or strategic networking. There are also enormous opportunities for cooperation in the area of science management and administration, from which not only the individual institutions, but also the entire science hub Berlin can benefit.
The Interest Group Administrative Dialog is dedicated to these potentials for synergies and joint activities. It provides a forum for the commercial and administrative management of BR50 institutions to network and exchange experiences as well as best practices.
Activities
The Interest Group Administrative Dialog meets on a biannual basis and identified topics that could be handled on administrative level within BR50. This does not only include issues that are relevant for the non-university institutions, but considers potential synergies that effect the whole science area of Berlin. In particular, the governance structure of BR50, joint professorships and the taxation of research cooperation are subjects of discussions. In addition, a working group formed out of the Interest Group that faces questions about mobile working.
Improvement of conditions for joint appointments of professorships
The upcoming VAT taxation of research cooperation in 2023 has strong implications on the whole science system. One particular impact is that jointly appointed professorships between the non-university research institutions and universities are affected. In Berlin, the so-called Berliner Modell (reimbursement model) is the most used appointment model (approx. 80%). However, it is becoming quite unattractive due to the VAT taxation starting latest by 2023. Other appointment models like the Jülicher Modell (leave model) provide problems as well, because the possible leave period for professors was limited to 10 years by Berlin’s university law (BerlHG). The BR50 coordinators, together with their administrative directors, are in regular exchange with science politicians in Berlin and the Berlin Senate, and submitted in mid-May a proposal for specific changes in the BerlHG to address this problem. On June 23rd 2022 the Berliner Abgeordnetenhaus has adopted revisions to the BerlHG, which included among other things a removal of the time limit on leave periods. It is great news that the suggestions made by the BR50 coordinators were considered in this process. Berlin made an important step towards a more competitive model for joint professorships in Berlin that are highly important for our research system in Berlin.
(You can find the adopted revisions to the BerlHG in Drucksache 19/0310 and the adopted amendments concerning joint appointments in Drucksache 19/0415).
Meeting on May 31st, 2022
The most recent meeting of the Interest Group took place at the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) of the MDC. The participants discussed the BR50 governance structures as well as issues of shared concern, such as digitalization and recruitment. During designated follow-up meetings and best practice workshops, each of these topics will be addressed in detail.
Contact
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the Interest Groups, please contact the BR50 offices.
Contact:
Dr. Anja Sommerfeld
BR50 Office Berlin Adlershof
sommerfeld[at]fv-berlin[dot]de
Dr. Gregor Hofmann
BR50 Branch Office Berlin Mitte
gregor.hofmann[at]wzb[dot]eu
Together with Berlin's universities, the BR50 institutions form a regional knowledge alliance that is unique in Europe, covering all scientific disciplines and the spectrum from basic to applied research. Forward-looking research questions that require cross-disciplinary expertise can be addressed here locally and without the disadvantages of spatial distance.
The Interest Group Interdisciplinary Career Development is engaged in the development of a BR50 postdoc fellowship program. The goal of the program, which is currently in the conception phase, is to promote postdoctoral fellowships on innovative, emerging research questions and topics that have not yet been institutionalized and require interdisciplinary treatment. In this way, cross-institutional exchange is to be promoted in a targeted manner and the potential of the diversity of the BR50 institutions is thus to be exploited.
Activities
The BR50 office at the WZB collaborated with the Berlin Cluster of Excellence SCRIPTS to organize two roundtable events on postdoctoral career paths for researchers in the social sciences and humanities in the fall of 2021. Both events took place via Zoom and attracted lively interest. The collaboration is continuing in 2022, with a series of events on funding opportunities for postdoctoral projects.
BR50 develops, together with the Berlin Leadership Academy (BLA) from the BUA, options to broaden their training programs. At the moment, the BLA programs address people in leading positions and professors as well as junior professors and leaders of junior research groups at the universities. Starting in May 2022, in a pilot project, some events will be opened to participants from non-university research institutions. In addition, it is envisioned to establish a joint BLA and BR50 training program that considers the requirements of the non-university research institutions.
Contact
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the Interest Groups, please contact the BR50 offices.
Contact:
Dr. Anja Sommerfeld
BR50 Office Berlin Adlershof
sommerfeld[at]fv-berlin[dot]de
Dr. Gregor Hofmann
BR50 Branch Office Berlin Mitte
gregor.hofmann[at]wzb[dot]eu
