Is research really global? How do universities in Berlin, Germany, and Europe conduct research with countries that have been hardly visible on the academic landscape? And how can cooperative research initiatives with the “Global South” help address major global challenges? These are the questions addressed by “Meridian”, the new podcast of the Berlin Center for Global Engagement (BCGE) of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA).

In interviews with journalist Philipp Eins, researchers talk about their lives and research between North and South – from Berlin to Dakar, from Rio de Janeiro to Manila. The podcast, which can be accessed via the usual platforms, invites researchers from the partner institutions – Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – to talk about their research, as well as researchers from the “Global South” who cooperate with the BUA. Interviewees talk about new perspectives that arise by crossing borders and the challenges of working in different research cultures.

Four episodes are already being published for the launch, in which researchers talk about their work, their personal interest in the subject, and current global debates. For example, Jacob van Rijs, professor of architecture at Technische Universität Berlin, talks about urban development and architecture between Rotterdam and Havana. And in an English-language episode, Indian historian Prathama Banerjee calls for rethinking Western-influenced concepts of the humanities and viewing them from a post-colonial perspective.

The topics of the podcast reflect the objectives of the Berlin Center for Global Engagement. The Center was established within the BUA to strengthen cooperative research initiatives with the Global South and advance science diplomacy. At the same time, the BCGE is building a research culture within the BUA that promotes scientific exchange with policymakers, society, and academic partners in the “Global South”.

Following the podcast “TALKING SCIENCE – When science meets society”, which was a co-production of rbb, the BUA, and Charité Global Health, “Meridian” is the first in a series of podcasts created within the BUA. The science podcasts are intended to bring the activities of the Berlin excellence alliance closer to the public and to provide the researchers of the partner institutions with a platform to talk about their research.

The Berlin University Alliance

The Berlin University Alliance is a consortium consisting of three major Berlin universities – Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin – and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, established to shape research and education in Berlin. The four partners joined forces to further develop Berlin as a research hub with international drawing power. Together the partners explore major societal challenges, increase public outreach, promote the training of junior researchers, address issues of quality and standards in research, and share resources in the areas of research infrastructure, teaching, diversity, equal opportunities, and internationalization. The Berlin University Alliance is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the state of Berlin under the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder.

Joint press release from Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin along with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Press contact
Hans-Christoph Keller, acting press spokesperson for the Berlin University Alliance and press spokesperson for Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Email: medien@berlin-university-alliance.de