What can robots learn from parrots? How do we prepare for the next pandemic? And above all: How can researchers answer all these questions in collaboration? In the new research podcast “BE:CURIOUS” researchers from Berlin and Oxford examine the great challenges of our time. They talk about their work, about small and large projects that transcend borders and provide new perspectives on the world.

The podcast is produced as part of the OX/BER Research Partnership between the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) and the University of Oxford and highlights the diverse collaborations between the five institutions of the two cities. Listeners will learn how scholars and scientists from Berlin and Oxford conduct research on current issues in collaboration and learn from each other by sharing their experiences and different approaches.

“BE:CURIOUS” can be heard on all common podcast platforms and kicks off with an initial episode on the topic of Big Data. In it, the data scientists Dr. Fabian Braesemann and the economist Dr. Fabian Stephany ask how the abundance of digital data can be useful for society. They now both work at the Oxford Internet Institute and had teamed up for their joint research for a project application under the OX/BER Research Partnership. They are currently setting up the Datenwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft (Data Science Society) (DWG) in Berlin as a spin-off from the University of Oxford. In the podcast, they discuss how they plan to use the DWG to sift through datasets in novel ways to better understand certain social dynamics – for example, to be able to predict gentrification or shed light on precarization in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. These findings should allow governments and organizations to better evaluate their decisions.

"BE:CURIOUS" is the third podcast to be created within the BUA. Together with science journalist Julia Vismann, researchers in “TALKING SCIENCE – wenn Wissenschaft auf Gesellschaft trifft (When science meets society)” are talking about crucial issues in the field of global health. It is produced in collaboration between the rbb, the BUA, and Charité Global Health. The BUA's Berlin Center for Global Engagement uses the “Meridian” podcast to showcase the work of researchers addressing issues relating to collaboration between the Global South and the Global North, academic freedom, and science diplomacy.

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

Suhana Elisabeth Reddy, press spokesperson for the Berlin University Alliance
Email: medien@berlin-university-alliance.de