Upcoming Events
Oxford-Berlin Colloquium 2025
The 2025 Oxford-Berlin Colloquium will be held in Oxford in January 2025 and bring together scholars and professionals to discuss a variety of topics, hosted by Dr Caroline Green (Oxford) and Luise Müller (Freie Universitat Berlin).
Location: Beit Room, Rhodes House, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RG
THE OXFORD-BERLIN LECTURE - Where is Le Borysthène? Writing about “Russian“ Ballet Today
Location: Centre for British Studies Mohrenstraße 60 10117 Berlin Room 105 and online via Zoom
UK-German Funding Opportunities - Information Session
The Berlin University Alliance (BUA) invites all interested members of its institutions to explore funding opportunities for joint research projects with partners in the United Kingdom on the afternoon of 19 February 2025. The afternoon offers: • Information about various funding formats: from open seed funding opportunities to long-term, thematic project funding • Expert presentations: by German and British funding bodies • Networking opportunities: Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to network with other BUA researchers and representatives of the funding organisations. Details of the programme will follow in January.
Location: Senatssaal, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin main building Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin
1st Berlin-BioTECH Symposium “Difficult to Express Proteins (DEP)”
Location: Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin (VLB) e.V. Seestraße 13, 13353 Berlin, Germany
THE OXFORD-BERLIN LECTURE - A History of International Thought Without Men
Location: Centre for British Studies Mohrenstraße 60 10117 Berlin Room 105 and online via Zoom
“Who’s getting it right? Making sense of China’s Foreign and Tech policy” - Lecture by Prof. Todd Hall from the University of Oxford
This is the first lecture of the "Lecture Series on Science, Technology, and Innovation" hosted by the Berlin Contemporary China Network (BCCN), an initiative by researchers at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, and Technische Universität Berlin. It is organized by TU Berlin.
Location: Humboldt University Berlin Department for East Asian Studies Johannisstr. 10 10117 Berlin Room 301
Researching with Society: International Perspectives
HU Office for Knowledge Exchange with Society at Zentrum für Kulturtechnik and TD-Lab – Laboratory for Transdisciplinary Research of the Berlin University Alliance present “Researching with Society: International Perspectives” on November 20th 2024, a get-together at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin on participatory research and public engagement offering learning and networking opportunities for Berlin researchers.
Location: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Campus Nord, Philippstraße 13, Haus 3, 10115 Berlin
Democracy under attack: Round Table Discussion at Falling Walls Science Summit
As in previous years, the Berlin University Alliance will be represented with a round table at the Falling Walls Science Summit.
Location: Falling Walls Science House Karl-Marx-Allee 34 10178 Berlin
BUA-Oxford Science Exchange Week
In the week from 28 October 2024 to 1 November 2024, the STEM team of the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership will hold various workshops in the areas of Energy/PV & Batteries, Catalysis/Hydrogenases, Automation and Bioenergy.
Panel discussion: The 2024 UK General Election. Results, Politics and Public Opinion
Location: Centre for British Studies Mohrenstr. 60, 10117 Berlin
"Nach Rilke: Übersetzung, Nachahmung, poetischer Dialog" - DHC lecture with Karen Leeder.
Location: Freie Universität Berlin Seminarzentrum, Raum L 115 Otto-von-Simson-Straße 26 14195 Berlin
“Rethinking global challenges – Sustainable Energies” - workshop and networking event
This workshop aims to bring together researchers from Berlin ( BUA and BR50 ) and Oxford university to lay the foundation for further impactful collaborations and plan collaborative applications to existing calls from diverse funding agencies.
Location: TU Berlin EINS - Innovationsplattform und Coworkingspace Ernst-Reuter-Platz 1, 10587 Berlin
3rd Annual Symposium of the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership: Futures – new knowledge for a complex world
In a world of constant change, there is a pressing need for all of us to re-imagine likely challenges and scenarios to address the future. Are we equipped to do just that? While global challenges like climate change and migration need global solutions, we are in danger of returning to the old world of geopolitical rivalry, capitalist instability, nationalist self-assertion, and major wars. As Einstein said, “we cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them” – but we are in danger of doing just that. In this event, thinkers from Berlin, Oxford and beyond are coming together in the iconic Humboldt Forum to look at likely futures for a complex world where the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ interact uneasily. They chart the move from global challenges to planetary imperatives and the impact of new technologies and of new forms of scientific knowledge (on democratic development, on health, on new forms of energy and ideas of social organisation and connectivity). We hope you have space in your diary on Wednesday, 3 July 2024 to join us at the Humboldt-Forum for an all-day programme looking at different aspects of ‘futures’ in our joint research disciplines: STEM, the Medical Sciences, the Social Sciences, and the Arts and Humanities. You will find the complete programme and the link to the registration page at the bottom of this page.
Location: Auditorium 3 (Saal 3) Humboldt Forum Schlossplatz 1 10178 Berlin
The Oxford-Berlin Lecture: Britain, Europe and the Changing Global Order since 1900
This lecture is a cooperation between the Centre for British Studies and the Franco-German Centre Marc Bloch, associated institute of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Location: Centre for British Studies Mohrenstr. 60, 10117 Berlin
Distinguished Speaker Series - Science of Intelligence (SCIoI): Asifa Majid
Asifa Majid (University of Oxford)
Location: MAR Building, Marchstraße 23, 10587 Berlin Room: MAR 2.057
Entangled. Being-with-music
Guest lecture by Prof. Dr. Eric F. Clarke, FBA (University of Oxford)
Location: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Department of Musicology and Media Studies Am Kupfergraben 5 10117 Berlin Room 501
Rethinking global challenges – Sustainable Energies
Open preparatory meeting for an Oxford-Berlin Workshop on Sustainable Energy on 4-5 July
Location: online
European Parliament election 2024 – trends and projections
On Wednesday 17 April 2024 from 7.00pm to 8.00pm CET, Prof Simon Hix and Einstein BUA/Oxford Visiting Fellow Prof Tarik Abou-Chadi will be discussing the European Parliament election 2024 on Zoom. Recent trends in elections and opinion polls throughout the EU indicate a significant rightward shift, with the populist right expected to emerge as a main winner in the 2024 European Parliament elections. This political realignment, amid internal and external challenges for the European Union, could have profound implications for EU policy, including environmental and foreign policies.
“… that is the Question” – Towards a History of the Question as an Epistemic Genre in the Early Modern Age
International Conference of the romanistic project A07 “ Erotema . The Question as an Epistemic Genre in the Learned Societies and the Periodical Press of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries ”
Location: Freie Universität Berlin Villa Engler Altensteinstr. 2 14195 Berlin-Dahlem
Skills workshop on community engagement for researchers
Workshop on engaged research (part of the seminar series "Evidence-based society?! How researchers can contribute to fostering democracy" Wondering what to think about community-based research and how to make its principles work in your field and research? Then this workshop is for you! When : Tuesday, 5 March 2024, 5-6.30pm GMT | 12-1.30pm EST | 8-9.30pm EAT | 6-7.30pm CET Sign-up : Due to the active participation necessary for this workshop, we have a separate sign-up for this session. Please let us know ASAP should you have signed up and are no longer able to join. Please sign up here . Who : Dr René Oosthuizen is a senior lecturer at the Community Engagement Division at Rhodes University, South Africa, and the Rhodes University academic lead for UNESCO Knowledge for Change (K4C), and most importantly an experienced engaged Research academic and brilliant workshop leader. ...together with Claire McCann, PhD student at the Department of Education, University of Oxford What : A collaborative workshop on the practical implementation of Engaged Research principles across disciplines and methods with the goal of familiarising participants with the principles of community-based participatory research, providing practical guidance on how participants may be able to incorporate engaged elements into their existing research, and providing tools for connecting with communities, and navigating barriers (power dynamics, institutional barriers) The workshop requires your active participation to the extent you are comfortable. It will include group work and we ask that, if you feel comfortable, you bring an object that means something to you (and whose story you feel comfortable sharing with others). This series is organised by a group of early career researchers from the Student Network for Open Science , the Rhodes Scholars for Science Communication, Policy, and Engagement with Society, and the Master of Public Policy at the University of Oxford.
Location: online
‘Deutsche Völker’ and ‘us English Teutones’: National Literature and Identity - Public Lecture with Dr Mary Boyle
As part of the lecture series "Legacies and Afterlives of the Empire" at the Centre for British Studies (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Dr. Mary Boyle will hold a lecture on the topic of "‘Deutsche Völker’ and ‘us English Teutones’: National Literature and Identity". Dr Mary Boyle is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow and Junior Research Fellow from Linacre College at University of Oxford. Event Poster Register at: events.gbz@hu-berlin.de For last-minute changes please see the website: www.gbz.hu-berlin.de
Location: Centre for British Studies Mohrenstr. 60 10117 Berlin
"Einig Mutterland nicht in Sicht‘: Erinnerung und Erfahrung der ostdeutschen Frauenbewegung 1989-1990"
This presentation will be held in German, followed by a Q&A in English language. Dieser Vortrag beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, wie ehemalige ostdeutsche feministische Aktivist*innen sich nach etwa dreißig Jahren Wiedervereinigung an ihre Erfahrungen in nichtstaatlichen-Frauen*gruppen in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (DDR) und in der autonomen ostdeutschen Frauen*bewegung während der Wende erinnern.
Location: Dorotheenstr. 24, Raum 1.204
Guided Tour: Collections & connections. Pigments across art collections
Location: Alte Nationalgalerie, Foyer Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin-Mitte
Oxford Berlin Conference: Rethinking Global Engagement
The second conference organized by the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership will take place at St Antony’s College, Oxford on Wednesday 29 th November and Thursday 30 th November 2023.
Location: St. Antony's College, Oxford
“Europe in a Changing World” - Dahrendorf Panel
Location: WZB, Reichpietschufer 50 10785 Berlin Room A 300
BBC Reith Lectures 2023 - Our Democratic Future by Ben Ansell: The Future of Security
The Reith Lectures were inaugurated in 1948 by the BBC to mark the historic contribution made to public service broadcasting by Sir John (later Lord) Reith, the corporation's first Director-General. This year's BBC Radio 4 Reith lecturer is Ben Ansell , Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. His four lectures, titled Our Democratic Future, will consider how to build political systems that work for all and are robust enough to face the wide-ranging challenges of the 21st century. Mark Hallerberg will deliver introductory remarks, while presenter, journalist and author Anita Anand will chair the lectures and question-and-answer sessions. The 2023 lecture will be recorded and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 later this year and will be available to listen to on BBC Sounds. More information can be found under this link .
Location: Enderlein Forum | Hertie School Friedrichstraße 180, 10117 Berlin
Round Table Discussion at Falling Walls on Demographic Shifts and Ageing Societies
Meet us and our Oxford partners at our Falling Walls Roundtable, “Demographic Shifts: Challenges & Best Practices of Ageing Societies Worldwide.” Berlin and Oxford experts from government, science and industry explore how we can live longer, healthier and happier lives. Increased life expectancy and declining birth rates create huge challenges for all societies: pressure on healthcare systems and resources, loneliness and implications for the economy and workforce. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that involves government policies, healthcare systems, social services, community initiatives, intergenerational collaboration, and technological innovations. Chair: Irene Tracey (Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford); panellists: Dr. Henry Marx Secretary of State for Science and Research, Berlin Senate Department for Science, Health and Care, Professor Melinda Mills – Director, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford, Professor Elke Schäffner - Deputy Director Institute of Public Health, Charité Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, and Dr. Diana Rothe, Creative healthcare industry – PI4 GmbH Join us to explore best practice, potential solutions and approaches to tackle the consequences in a transdisciplinary way. The event will be live-streamed under the following link: https://falling-walls.com/science-summit/livestream-round-tables/
Location: Radialsystem, Studio A Holzmarktstraße 33, 10243 Berlin
Panel Discussion at Science Week: Erosion of Democracy? Academic Freedom and Right-Wing Politics in Europe
Europe has long called itself a stronghold of democracy. However, the significant increase of populism, authoritarianism, and right-wing politics on a global level has not stopped on its borders: Across Europe, right-wing movements and parties influence political discourse at both national and international levels, endangering democratic principles, such as fair elections, separation of powers, or freedom of speech. This has led to changes not only in the political landscapes of many countries, but also in the field of academia. Attacks on academic freedom have increased, restrictions and limitations on what to research are being established. In, for instance, Hungary, the so-called Orbanization of University is underway. What effect had the rise of right-wing politics on the state of academic freedom and democracy in Europe? What are the factors that have contributed to the increase of right-wing movements and far-right ideologies taking hold? What are potential strategies that could help curb the spread of right-wing populist ideologies to strengthen democratic principles? Tarik Abou-Chadi (University of Oxford / Einstein BUA Oxford Visiting Fellow) and Kriszta Kovács (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin / Cluster of Excellence SCRIPTS ) will contribute their expertise and discuss recent political developments together with Matthias Koch (ZEIT-Foundation). The event ist organized in cooperation with the Berlin Center for Global Engagement as part of the Cross-Cutting Theme Internationalization of the Berlin University Alliance and will take place in person at Campus Naturkundemuseum in Berlin. Live-Streaming is available. Please find more information on the website of Berlin Science Week: https://berlinscienceweek.com/de/event/erosion-of-democracy-academic-freedom-and-right-wing-politics-in-europe/
Citizens of the World. Academic Freedom in a Global Perspective – 60 Years after President John F. Kennedy’s Speech at Freie Universität Berlin
2023 not only marks the 75th anniversary of Freie Universität Berlin's founding, it is also the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's iconic speech on the FU campus. Keeping in mind his statement that this university “must be interested in turning out citizens of the world” and his idea of universities as incubators of freedom, this event will look at issues of academic freedom from a historical perspective as well as within today's contexts – and think about how to shape academic freedom in the future.
Location: Henry-Ford-Building, Garystr. 35, 14195 Berlin
Academic Director Çiğdem İşsever at Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften
Professor Çiğdem İşsever, Academic Director of the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership, and physicist at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, will give a talk entitled "The Higgs Discovery – A success story of the Large Hadron Collider”
Location: Institut für Physik HU Berlin Newtonstrasse 15 Gerthsen-Hörsaal Raum 1’201
Happy in Berlin? British Writers in the City, the 1920s and Beyond - An Exhibition and Guided Tours
British writers were fascinated by Berlin and came to live here for many different reasons - politics, pleasure and psychoanalysis. The exhibition explores the different experience of gay and lesbian writers, diplomats and budding psychoanalysts. Guided tours by the curators focusing on women writers, the gay experience, and psychoanalysis will take visitors to 1920s' Berlin as seen through English eyes. This exhibition emerged from the collaboration between Prof Stefano Evangelista, Trinity College, Oxford University, who will start his Oxford/BUA Einstein Visiting Fellowship later this year, and Prof Gesa Stedman, Centre for British Studies, HU Berlin. Please find more information on the exhibition website and on the website of Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften .
Location: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Universitäts-Hauptgebäude Unter den Linden 6 10117 Berlin Lichthof
Fireside Chat: British-German Cultural/Academic Relations and the Oxford-Berlin Partnership
Location: Maecenata Stiftung Rungestr. 17 10179 Berlin
Oxford-Berlin Lecture at HU Berlin
The Centre for British Studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin presents a lecture by Professor Dr Rana Mitter OBE FBA, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China (St Cross College, Faculty of History, University of Oxford).
Location: Room 105, 1st floor Centre for British Studies Mohrenstr.60, 10117 Berlin
Interner Termin: Strategieworkshop in Oxford
The Academic Directors, the Vice Academic Directors and the administrative team of the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership wirll come together in Oxford at a strategy workshop to set future milestones and shape a roadmap for the partnership.
Falling Walls Circle – Round Table “Science and Politics: Between Independence, Interdependence and Partnership”
Grand societal challenges can no longer be solved in ivory towers and back rooms. Diverse expertise and multidirectional exchange are increasingly important. But how can such collaboration work without compromising the autonomy of individual fields? Focusing on Science & Politics, this round table will explore how scientific knowledge can be offered comprehensively and neutrally and how policy makers can contribute experiences to ongoing research.
Internal Meeting: Jour Fixe Liaison Panel
Monthly internal meeting of the Vice Academic Directors and the Academic Director of the Oxford Berlin Partnership on the BUA side.