A warm welcome: Summer students start at the HZB
Die Sommerstudierenden erkunden Berlin. © privat
Besuch des Naturkundemuseums Berlin. © privat
On 1 July 2024, 18 summer students from 15 nations started their work at HZB. Until 23 August, they will be supervised in various research teams and take on their own small project. For many students, this is their first contact with research.
"We are delighted that there were so many applications for places this year. The summer students are highly motivated to gain new experiences at HZB and in Berlin," says Marieke Hoog Antink. Together with Cécile Dufloux, Jennifer Kusch and Ana Anselmo, she is member of the organisation team. After a brief welcome and an introduction to research at the HZB, the summer students moved on to the departments on the very first day. There they have eight weeks to work independently on a project. They then will present their results to the other students and HZB staff at the end of the programme.
An attractive framing programme is offered as well: they will visit the Einstein Park in Potsdam, followed by a tour of the Adlershof science campus, during which they will visit the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt and BESSY II. At the Wannsee campus, the programme includes eye tumour therapy. The students will also attend a workshop on entrepreneurship offered by the HZB Technology Transfer department.
The summer students will blog about their experiences at work and during their spare time. Antonia Rötger from the Communications Department is offering an introduction to science communication.
We wish you a good time at HZB!
- VOLT – Art in the shell of the HZB from 19 to 21 June 2026An extraordinary setting: from 19 to 21 June, artists and students from the Berlin University of the Arts will be exhibiting in the shell of the services building on the HZB campus in Berlin-Adlershof. The public is warmly invited to attend the three-day exhibition.
- Shaping diversity together19 May is German Diversity Day, a nationwide day of action that highlights diversity in the workplace. Silvia Zerbe and Ana Anselmo have been appointed as Diversity Officers at HZB. How do they view their role and what are their plans? A conversation about what we all stand to gain by embracing and actively promoting greater diversity. And why it is particularly important to stand up for this in times like these.
- Cool vaccines in rural Kenya: solar solution has been awarded by UNIn May 2026, Tabitha Awuor Amollo is spending some weeks as a guest scientist at HZB, analysing perovskite thin films at BESSY II. The Kenyan physicist from Egerton University, Nairobi, was recently recognised for her achievements in research and teaching. For the development of a solar-powered refrigeration system for use in rural health centres, she has been awarded the 2026 Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)-Elsevier Foundation Award. An interview on exceptional projects and daily struggles of a scientist. Questions were asked by Antonia Rötger.