Dear Friends of the Einstein Foundation Berlin,
As we look ahead to an eventful 2025 for Berlin as a hub of scientific excellence, we anticipate a year filled with both challenges and groundbreaking developments. At the forefront is the Excellence Initiative: the evaluations of the proposed excellence clusters, which will conclude in the first half of the year, will be followed in the second half by the on-site review of the continuation proposal for the Berlin University Alliance. Over the past years, the Einstein Foundation has supported numerous outstanding research projects of the Berlin University Alliance. Beyond the visible “BUA” label, our funding has helped strengthen and deepen Berlin’s academic landscape. All twelve "Core Areas" of the Berlin University Alliance have benefited from our various programmes – whether through international appointments, multi-year support for research centres, or internationalisation efforts such as visiting fellowships. Alongside providing substantial material support for top-tier research in Berlin, fostering collaborative thinking across institutional boundaries remains a key goal of the Einstein Foundation. No matter what the decision in the competition is going to be, the culture of cooperation has become a lived reality, and all those involved can rightly take pride in this shared achievement.
In 2025, we will continue along our path with determination, thinking ahead and actively supporting the development of new funding priorities at our partner institutions in Berlin. We will also remain open to innovative initiatives and ideas from across the academic community. New centre initiatives will be just as important to us as supporting postdoctoral researchers. Since 2023, we have been offering a dedicated programme for postdoctoral researchers, which will remain a key focus in the coming year. Our aim is to continue attracting top talent, enabling groundbreaking research, and advancing the internationalisation of Berlin’s scientific community.
To be a reliable partner for our grant recipients, financial stability is essential. Despite painful and short-notice budget cuts, we are pleased to confirm that our funding outlook for 2025 remains secure, thanks to the prudent planning undertaken last year. However, caution alone will not drive the progress Berlin’s research sector needs. Excessive caution risks falling behind! We therefore hope for a reliable long-term financial outlook from the state and are intensifying our efforts to gain additional support from private donors and benefactors. Only with such backing can we take the necessary risks to shape the future of science actively.
2025 has been declared the International Year of Quantum Science by the United Nations, a field to which Albert Einstein himself made historic contributions. The Einstein Foundation Berlin takes pride in its current and former grant recipients who are conducting cutting-edge research in this field and are recognised internationally. For example, Jens Eisert, Professor of Quantum Systems at Freie Universität Berlin and spokesperson for the concluded Einstein Research Unit “Perspectives of a quantum digital transformation”, was recently consulted by the technology giant Google for the calibration of its quantum chips, as reported by Tagesspiegel. His colleague Tim Schröder, a quantum physicist at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, not long ago secured an ERC Consolidator Grant. This is a clear demonstration that funding works – when it is allowed to.
Finally, we would like to take a brief look back: At the end of December, we bade a fond farewell to Professor Dorothea Kübler, who, as a member of our board, actively contributed to shaping the foundation’s work for nine years. At the same time, we are pleased to welcome her successor, Professor Cornelia Woll, President of the Hertie School, who will now help steer the foundation’s future direction. With this transition, we feel well positioned to continue promoting Berlin’s reputation as an outstanding research hub.
In this spirit, we wish you a happy and healthy 2025 and look forward to a successful year with you by our side!
Kind regards,
Martin Rennert (Chair of the Executive Board) and Thorsten Wilhelmy
(Managing Director)