HI-SCORE international research school: Kick Off Meeting in Berlin
More than 50 participants from Israel and Berlin initiated the international research school HI-SCORE with a kick off meeting. © HZB
The international research school on solar energy promotes exchange between Germany and Israel and excellent conditions for PhD students.
With a two day kick off meeting at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) the Helmholtz International Research School HI-SCORE on solar energy research has started. To accomplish this, HZB is collaborating with the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, the Israeli Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa, and three Israeli universities as well as universities in Berlin and Potsdam. The project is funded by the Helmholtz Association.
The name “HI-SCORE” stands for “Hybrid Integrated Systems for Conversion of Solar Energy”. The research themes extend from novel solar cells based on metal-organic perovskites, to tandem solar cells, to complex systems of materials for generating solar fuels. These complex materials systems can convert the energy of sunlight to chemical energy so it can be easily stored in the form of fuel.
The research school HI-SCORE does offer more than 30 places for PhD students in Israel and Germany, with excellent research conditions and with internationally renowned scientists as supervisors. Additionally they benefit from the comprehensive selection of seminars and advanced training opportunities. All of the HI-SCORE doctoral students will conduct research in both countries and be advised by staff at HZB as well as by the Israeli partners.
More than 50 participants joined together in a working meeting April 23-4, 2018 to inaugurate the new HI-SCORE Research School. A total of 20 Israeli colleagues came to Berlin from the five Israeli partnering institutions. The acting Managing Director of HZB, Prof. Bernd Rech, welcomed the participants in the BESSY auditorium. After the individual projects were presented on Monday morning, the participants used the afternoon to plan the joint research work for the next few months. There was an opportunity to visit laboratories at the HZB on Tuesday.
Dr. Daniel Abou-Ras, Scientific Coordinator, explains: "All the participants got to know each other personally for the first time at this initial meeting and were able to reach concrete agreements on the projects and the distribution of tasks. We are very much looking forward to productive teamwork."
The Helmholtz Association is funding HI-SCORE as the Helmholtz International Research School beginning in 2018. The School will receive a total of 1.8 million Euros from the Initiative and Networking Fund of the President of the Helmholtz Association over a period of six years. In addition, the collaborating partners and HZB are making their own contributions, so that the total budget will be approximately 7 million Euros.
More information:
Website HI-SCORE International Research School
Interview with the speaker of Hi-SCORE Research Schhol in our Campus-Blog (in German).
General informationen about the Helmholtz International Research Schools
- Key technology for a future without fossil fuelsIn June and July 2025, catalyst researcher Nico Fischer spent some time at HZB. It was his sabbatical, he was relieved of his duties as Director of the Catalysis Institute in Cape Town for several months and was able to focus on research only. His institute is collaborating with HZB on two projects that aim to develop environmentally friendly alternatives using innovative catalyst technologies. The questions were asked by Antonia Rötger, HZB.
- 5000th patient treated with protons for eye tumoursFor more than 25 years, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have been jointly offering proton radiation therapy for eye tumours. The HZB operates a proton accelerator in Berlin-Wannsee for this purpose, while Charité provides medical care for the patients. The 5000th patient was treated at the beginning of August.
- Iridium-free catalysts for acid water electrolysis investigatedHydrogen will play an important role, both as a fuel and as a raw material for industry. However, in order to produce relevant quantities of hydrogen, water electrolysis must become feasible on a multi-gigawatt scale. One bottleneck is the catalysts required, with iridium in particular being an extremely rare element. An international collaboration has therefore investigated iridium-free catalysts for acidic water electrolysis based on the element cobalt. Through investigations with various methods, among them experiments at the LiXEdrom at the BESSY II X-ray source in Berlin, they were able to elucidate processes that take place during water electrolysis in a cobalt-iron-lead oxide material as the anode. The study is published in Nature Energy.