Einstein Foundation Award

The Einstein Foundation Berlin promotes international cutting-edge research in and for Berlin. With evidence-based research, reliable standards, and open access to new findings being more important than ever. In this spirit, the Einstein Foundation launched a new international prize, the Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research – the first of its kind worldwide.

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The award shines a spotlight on individuals and projects that exhibit outstanding dedication, but also the courage to view research practice in a more critical light

Martin Rennert, Chair of the Einstein Foundation’s Executive Board

In cooperation with the BIH QUEST Center for Responsible Research at Charité, the Einstein Foundation annually recognizes outstanding researchers and institutions whose work helps to advance the quality and robustness of research findings – whether they are breaking new ground, using and testing innovative methods, or collecting and sharing their data in novel ways. An international and interdisciplinary jury of researchers and research quality experts selects the awardees.

The Award Funders and Partners

The total prize money for 2026 amounts to €350,000. The Individual and Institutional Awards are funded by Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft, while the BIH QUEST Center for Responsible Research funds the Early Career Award. Additional resources are made available by the State of Berlin. The publisher Nature Portfolio, the Public Library of Science (PLOS), the National Academy of Sciences, the Berlin University Alliance, the Max Planck Society and the Max Planck Foundation support the Einstein Foundation Berlin and the BIH QUEST Center for Responsible Research in promoting and implementing the award.

Award Ceremony

The 2025 Einstein Foundation Award was presented at a ceremony at the Bode Museum in Berlin on 14 March 2026 – Einstein's birthday.

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The winners of the Einstein Foundation Award — Photo: Sebastian Gabsch/Einstein Foundation Berlin

The Trophy

The Einstein Foundation Award trophy is made of chalk. It was created by Axel Kufus, Professor of Design at the Institute for Product and Process Design at the Berlin University of the Arts.