Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald
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The Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation On 20th June 2000, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation (Essen), the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald established the Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation. Professor Dr. h. c. mult. Berthold Beitz, who had been chairman of the board of trustees of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation for many years, developed the plan to build an independent institution for the promotion of science in Greifswald – the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg. Subsequently, the Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation executed this plan. Professor Beitz was driven by the vision that an institute for advanced studies, embedded in the university- and Hanseatic town of Greifswald, should contribute to the revival of a liberal and cosmopolitan centre, which the town of Greifswald had been for encounters in the Baltic region hundreds of years before.
Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (1907 – 1967), the last sole owner of the Krupp company
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Professor Dr. h. c. mult. Berthold Beitz (1913 – 2013)
The Kolleg is committed to the legacies of Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach and Berthold Beitz. Both considered it “a moral duty” to “let others, the closest and nearest neighbours actively participate in the advancements of science”. Organs of the Alfried Krupp Kolleg foundation are in addition to the scientific management, the board of trustees, which regulates and controls the adherence of the statutes of the foundation, the executive board, which manages the administrative issues and represents the foundation externally, and the scientific advisory board.
Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Ursula Gather has been the chair of the board of trustees of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation in Essen since October 2013. She is also the chair of the board of trustees of the Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation.
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Profile: The Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald The objective of the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg is to promote science and research at the University of Greifswald and to contribute to the national and international visibility of Greifswald as a science centre. Being a scientifically independent institution, the Kolleg has emerged to a crucial element of academic life in Greifswald. Furthermore, the Kolleg cooperates with associated scientific institutions, thereby strengthening interacademic collaborations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The director and the scientific manager are responsible for the scientific program of the Kolleg.
Professor Dr. Bärbel Friedrich has been the scientific director since 2008 and Dr. Christian Suhm has been the scientific manager of the Kolleg since 2009.
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A scientific advisory board supports the Kolleg in the design of the program and the selection of visiting scientists (fellows).
The program of the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald, which is outlined in more detail in the following sections, is based on four pillars: » the Alfried Krupp Fellows Program, » the conference program, » public lectures and » the promotion of young researchers. Mathias Brodkorb, minister for education, science and culture of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, is a member of the board of trustees of the Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation.
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Professor Dr. Johanna Eleonore Weber, rector of the University of Greifswald, at the occasion of the 12th annual workshop of the German Psychological Society. She is the representative of the University of Greifswald in the board of trustees of the Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation.
The Kolleg’s profile is essentially guided by the scientific projects of its Fellows. Further impact is given by the University of Greifswald and the academic environment. The activities of the Kolleg also include independent research projects, which are promoted on a long-term basis.
Professor Dr. Bärbel Friedrich, Professor Dr. Karlheinz Altendorf (member of the scientific advisory board), Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger (chairman of the thyssenkrupp AG) and Joachim von der Wense (member of the executive board of the Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation) (from left to right)
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» The Alfried Krupp Fellows Programm
The fellows program, which was launched in 2007, marks the major activity of the Kolleg. So far, nearly 100 visiting scientists have participated in this program, which offers excellent guests the opportunity to conduct a substantial research project apart from daily academic constraints. After public announcements of the fellowships, about twelve national and international scientists (“senior fellows” and “junior fellows”) are selected in a competitive process and are subsequently invited to the Kolleg for up to six or twelve months, respectively. The selection of the fellows is primarily based on scientific excellence and the quality of the submitted research proposal. The assessment takes also into account already existing, as well as anticipated collaborations with scientists from local institutions.
Former fellows of the Kolleg: Dr. Tatjana Tarkian, Dr. Natalia Shchyhlevska, Professor Dr. Beat Kümin, Professor Dr. Maria MoogGrünewald (from left to right)
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Fellows of the academic year 2014/2015 at a traditional closing colloquium on the island of Hiddensee
Associating the fellows program with the key research areas of the University of Greifswald aims at paving the way for national and international collaborations. Moreover, the fellows are also encouraged to communicate their research projects, which can cover any subject area, to young researchers and to participate in joined teaching programs with the university by giving lectures and seminars. The annual selection takes also into account an adequate international representation of fellows. Usually, around 30 percent of the fellows come from outside the country, particularly from Central and Eastern Europe. An alumni initiative offers regular contact and vivid exchange between former fellows, current visitors and members of the Kolleg and the university. For example, every June a meeting is organized in Greifswald, where the alumni meet current fellows and friends of the Kolleg.
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» The conference program
The spectrum of meetings performed in the Kolleg encompasses international conferences, symposia, workshops and summer schools for students, as well as sciencerelated exhibitions. These events, around 25 per year, are characterized by a high degree of internationality. They are organised by members of the Kolleg in collaboration with the conference chairperson. The majority of these conferences is co-financed by additional grants, for instance from the German Research Foundation (DFG). Among the conferences at the Kolleg, the Slavic summer schools “Ukrainicum” (since 2005) and the “Polonicum” (since 2011) represent special enterprises. The pivotal role of the Ukrainicum is recognised by the fact that it is, next to a comparable summer school at Harvard University, the worldwide only event of this format outside of Ukraine. Participants of the conference “Collective Knowledge and Epistemic Trust” meeting in the foyer for a group photo. Organiser of the conference was Professor Dr. Michael Baurmann, fellow of the academic year 2009/10.
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Opening of the life science exhibition “Men and Microbes”: Dr. Arthur König (mayor of Greifswald), Professor. Dr. Reinhard Burger (president of the Robert Koch Institute), Professor Dr. Bärbel Friedrich (director of the Krupp Kolleg), Dr. Dorothee Dzwonnek (the general secretary of the German Research Foundation) and Professor Dr. Jörg Hacker (president of the National Academy Leopoldina) (from left to right)
Interdisciplinary meetings in the fields of medicine, bioscience, as well as environmental, climate and energy research have been in the focus of the conference program over past years. Close collaborations with partners at the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics, the FriedrichLoeffler-Institute for Animal Health and faculties of the university such as mathematics, natural science and medicine made these events possible. The foyer of the Kolleg, open, transparent, flooded with light, is a welcome space for scientific exhibitions. In 2013 the Kolleg successfully hosted the travelling exhibition “Men and Microbe – The Heritage of Robert Koch and Modern Infection Research“ organised by the DFG and the Robert Koch Institute. The Kolleg was the patron of subsequent exhibitions designed by the DFG and the Helmholtz Association, which especially attracted young visitors.
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» Public lectures
Dr. Wilhelm Krull, general secretary of the Volkswagen Foundation, held the 25th Greifswald-Speech in November 2011. He addressed the question of how the German science system will develop in the future.
Another characteristic feature of the Kolleg is its rich lecture program. More than 100 public events per year are either devoted to a professional or to a broader audience of scientific interests and curiosity. A significant input comes from the “Fellow Lectures”, when the visiting scientists give insights into their research projects. Additional lectures belong to the standard inventory of the Kolleg, above all the “Greifswalder Rede”, which focuses on current social issues.
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Thematically wide, interdisciplinary lecture series, that have been introduced previously, are another characteristic feature of the lecture program. They are particularly devoted to the educators and students, for instance the series “Literature. Culture.Theory” or “Technology. Environment. Climate“. Other lecture series are designated after famous scientists, who have accomplished pioneering work in Greifswald, e.g. the “Loeffler-Lecture” (virology), the “Felix-Hausdorff-Lecture” (mathematics) and the “Gustaf-Dalman-Lecture” (theology). Author readings and public conference lectures complement the Kolleg’s scientific repertoire.
Writer Dr. Martin Walser, winner of the Peace Prize of the German book trade, visited the Kolleg in November 2015, reading from his diaries (1979 to 1981).
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» The promotion of young researchers
In the past, the Kolleg supported especially talented young scientists as part of doctoral schools in the fields of molecular biology and biochemistry. Overall, more than 20 particularly qualified PhD-students received doctoral scholarships. Excellent dissertations and many high-ranking publications resulted from this funding initiative. In 2012, the Alfried Krupp Kolleg initiated a new program, the so-called ”Junges Kolleg Greifswald”. It represents a unique facility, which gathers especially gifted students from Greifswald, who own competitive scholarships, predominantly from the German National Merit Foundation. Students of the “Junges Kolleg” are asked to perform scientific events of their own choice and individual format, thus actively participating in the academic life of the Kolleg.
During a World Cafe in December 2013, Professor Dr. Reinhard Merkel, Fellow of the academic year of 2013/2014, discussed the topic “the future of the economy and sustainability” with young fellows.
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The Nobel Prize winner Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Rolf Martin Zinkernagel held the 3rd Loeffler-Lecture in June 2014, which was certainly a highlight event.
The young research fellows have the opportunity to persue research topics of their own choice. This occurs at an early stage of their academic career and enables them inviting experts to address interdisciplinary issues such as the relationship between science and society. The students are free to approach their own strategies for the events. They gain support from a mentor from the scientific advisory board, visitors, fellows and the staff of the Kolleg. The “Junges Kolleg” initiative, which is focused on the promotion of young particularly talented students, is expected to enhance also the education of graduates at the university. The series “Thinking about Science” for example, including lectures and seminars that treat ethical and philosophcal issues, is predominantly addressed to the doctoral students of the university graduate academy.
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The Building
The Kolleg´s building, completed in 2002, is located in the medieval centre of the Hanseatic university town of Greifswald. Located in close vicinity to the Cathedral of St. Nikolai, the Kolleg harmoniously connects the modern compound with a restored historical frame house, the so-called “Alte Apotheke”. This old pharmacy is the oldest house of its kind in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. On an area of around 2,400 square meters, the Kolleg provides offices for Fellows, students and members of the administration, as well as modern and well-equipped conference rooms, a large auditorium and a cafeteria. Apartments for the Fellows are located in an associated residential tract of the compound.
The Kolleg’s auditorium, has up to 180 seats, which are often fully occupied.
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Boards and Bodies
Board of Trustees Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Ursula Gather, Chair Chair of the board of trustees of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, Essen Professor Dr. Diethard Bergers Member of the board of trustees of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, Essen Mathias Brodkorb Minister for education, science and culture of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Professor Dr. Johanna Eleonore Weber Director of the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald Executive Board Professor Dr. Bärbel Friedrich Dr. Freia Steinmetz Joachim von der Wense Scientific Director Professor Dr. Bärbel Friedrich Scientific Manager Dr. Christian Suhm Commercial Manager Dr. Freia Steinmetz Scientific Advisory Board Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Carl Friedrich Gethmann, Chair Professor Dr. Karlheinz Altendorf Professor Dr. Barbara Bröker Professor Dr. Hans-Joachim Freund Professor Dr. Philipp U. Heitz Dr. h. c. Horst Dieter Marheineke Professor Dr. Luise Schorn-Schütte Professor Dr. Eckhard Schumacher Professor Dr. Rainer Westermann
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List of Illustrations Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, Essen: Page 3 down Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation: Pages 5, 7, 11, 12, 16 Vincent Leifer, Greifswald: Pages 2, 3 up, 4 left, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 Jürgen Peters, Greifswald: Page 4 right Jens Büttner: Page 6 down Imprint Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation D-17487 Greifswald Phone +49 (0) 3834 86-19001 Fax +49 (0) 3834 86-19005 info@wiko-greifswald.de www.wiko-greifswald.de October 2016