Adlershof Journal January/February 2025
Boosting STEM: Play your way to growth:
ESSAY by Matthias Gerschwitz: Tomorrow, children, joy awaits! IN CONVERSATION WITH Melissa Horchemer, who wants to inspire young people for scientific careers PORTRAIT The molecule splitter: Michelle Brown is…
STEM from within
‘We have our costume box for the girls here, and the workbench for the boys over there.’ We were touring the rooms of the local daycare centre with child no. 2, and I remember thinking: ‘I wonder what kind of life and career plans this corset might produce in young people.’ Fortunately, my child was unimpressed by the rigid stereotypes and could be seen sitting in full Elsa the Snow Queen costume, happily tinkering with the chemistry set he requested.
How can we create an inclusive STEM culture? Our first Journal of 2025 highlights initiatives on the Adlershof campus aimed at identifying and supporting young scientific talent. The activities are manifold: Next to events like Girls' Day, the Girls' Technology Congress and the Long Night of the Sciences, there are apprenticeship networks, student labs, research competitions, and even a team of kicking robots at the Department of Computer Science of Humboldt-Universität.
Both our cover story and our conversation with ST(E)AM project head Melissa Horchemer show that it is possible to break down gender stereotypes, spark enthusiasm at a young age, make them tangible through hands-on experiences, and inspire people through role models.
New year, new look: If you're a regular reader, you may have noticed a slight redesign. With a clearer layout, it will be easier for us to share the stories from our fascinating neighbourhood.
Wishing you a great start to 2025.
Sincerely,
Peggy Mory
Editor-in-chief
Articles
Tomorrow, children, joy awaits!
Essay by Matthias Gerschwitz, communications specialist and book author:
‘I like to watch’ is one of cinema’s legendary lines. In the 1979 US satire Being There, Peter Sellers stars as Chance, a gardener who has spent his entire life on a wealthy man’s estate. The world beyond the garden…
In conversation with Melissa Horchemer
The WISTA project manager wants to show young people career and academic opportunities in the natural sciences:
Coming from a non-academic family living in a socially disadvantaged area of Duisburg, Melissa Horchemer was far from predestined for a career in the STEM sector. Yet, this background didn’t hold her back—it inspired…
The molecule splitter
Michelle Brown is working on producing green hydrogen:
Splitting water—using electrical energy to break the H₂O molecule into its gaseous components, hydrogen and oxygen, to be exact. Could this process be made cheaper, simpler, and more efficient? This question has…
Supercharging talent
How the Technology Park in Adlershof supports the next generation of STEM professionals:
According to a study, around one-fifth of young people aged ten to 16 have a ‘fear of mathematics.’ This applies equally to most STEM subjects. Why? And what can we do about it? For Tobias Bohnhardt, these findings…
Pepperl+Fuchs build in Adlershof
A manufacturer of industrial sensors and explosion protection solutions is consolidating its Berlin locations:
What began in 1945 as a radio workshop in Mannheim has since become a global leader in industrial sensors and explosion protection solutions, with over 900 million euros in revenue and 6,850 employees. The…
Locomotive practice pieces
Five-hundred apprentices are being trained at the new Apprentice Workshop of Deutsche Bahn (DB):
The new three-story building of the Apprentice Workshop in Johannisthal is flooded with light and accommodates more than 500 trainees. The space on the premises of the S-Bahn railyard in Schöneweide had become too…
Studying together what belongs together
The new BA-level study course IMP at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin combines three core scientific subjects: computer science, mathematics, and physics:
When Laura Michaelis sought to enroll at Humboldt University in 2016, she was initially uncertain. She was interested in the natural sciences but didn't want to commit to just one discipline. This was before the…
Developing catalysts with robots and AI
Dunia wants to protect Earth from its increasing destruction:
The Adlershof-based start-up Dunia has established a highly systematic approach to material development. A self-repeating cycle in four steps: Design – Make – Test – Analyse. What sets Dunia's approach apart is the…
A bandage on many wounds
The life of Etty Hillesum was recently filmed at the studios of the LichtHaus Group:
At Gross-Berliner Damm 83a, the Johannisthal film studio of the LichtHaus Group spans 1,300 square metres and is just 500 metres from the historic Johannisthaler Filmanstalten, or Jofa film studios. It was here that,…
News in short
Adlershof Research Forum
Held in November 2024, the Adlershof Research Forum (AFF in German) is a conference designed for interdisciplinary exchange and strategic inputs within the scientific community of the Technology Park and organised by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the research network of non-university institutes IGAFA e. V., and WISTA Management GmbH. The award for best poster on a current research topic went to Juliane Scholl, a PhD student at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). In her dissertation, she investigated fluorinated chemicals from lithium-ion batteries that exhibit a similar behaviour as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), so-called eternity chemicals.
Visitor day: Jugend forscht Regional Competition Berlin South
‘Jugend forscht’ is the best-known youth science competition for children and young people between year 4 and age 21 in Germany, encouraging research, invention, and experimentation across seven science and technology categories. WISTA Management GmbH, the operating company of Adlershof Technology Park, has been the sponsoring company for the Berlin South competition round, one of the four Berlin-based regional competitions, since 2011. On February 26, interested parties will have the opportunity to get to know this year's young researchers and their projects at Bunsen Hall, Volmerstrasse 2.
Education initiative for Germany’s chip industry
Securing high-skilled workers for the chip industry—this is the goal of the national flagship project ‘Skilled workers for microelectronics: skills4chips’, which was launched with 12 million euros in funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in November 2024. A key component is the establishment of a national educational academy for microelectronics and microsystem technology.
The Microtec Academy will address the growing demand for skilled workers with innovative training programmes and is coordinated by the Berlin-based Ferdinand Braun Institute (FBH).
RoboCup Junior Qualifying Tournament
RoboCup Junior is the world’s largest international robotics competition for young people, promoting the STEM subjects: mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and technology. On 25 and 26 January 2025, one of eight qualifying tournaments for the German finals will take place at Rudower Chaussee 17 in Berlin, where students aged 11 to 19 will showcase their robotics skills.
RoboCup Junior in Berlin is supported by Siemens AG and WISTA Management GmbH and is hosted by Modul e. V. – Förderverein Modernes Lehren und Lernen Berlin.
New foot and cycle bridge opens in Adlershof
In November 2024, the new Hilde Archenhold Bridge was officially handed over to the public and now connects the old town centre of Adlershof with the Technology Park Adlershof. The bridge is made purely of aluminium and is the longest of its kind in Berlin at 78 metres. It was planned and built jointly by the Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing and the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment. The project was implemented by the WISTA.Plan development agency.
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