You’ve just received your high school diploma – now what? While many young people go straight into further education after finishing school and others use the time to travel, some decide to take up volunteering. There is a wide range of options in this regard, the most well-known being the Voluntary Social Year. However, many don’t know that this is also an opportunity to get a taste of scientific research. Yann Niklas Klötzer is one of the people who have opted for a Voluntary Scientific Year (FJN) at Fraunhofer IZI-BB.

From getting a visa to finding an English-speaking doctor, Darya Niakhaichyk helps international researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics with navigating their stay in Potsdam, Germany – and knows many of their challenges from experience.

One of the biggest business success stories at the Potsdam Science Park has been RIPAC-LABOR. After more than 18 years at the helm, successful founder and entrepreneur Dagmar Köhler-Repp has passed the mantle to Heiko Rüdiger, a veteran executive who has plans to give the company a stronger international presence, especially now that it’s part of Dopharma.

With over 25 years of experience supporting startups, 300 of them nurtured over the last 10 years alone, and ranked 3rd in Startup Radar 2021, Potsdam Transfer’s Start-up Service is one of Germany’s most successful. In this interview we hear from its head of, Johannes Zier, on how he and the team got to this position, the advice he gives to scientists looking to found start-ups, and why the Potsdam Science Park is so important for the start-up scene in Germany and beyond.

Prof. Andreas Borowski, Didactics of Physics at the University of Potsdam, pursues the goal of implementing new approaches to physics education so that teachers can feel comfortable with their methods and students or puplils enjoy learning much more. At the Potsdam Science Park he particularly appreciates the interest of people in finding interdisciplinary solutions together. And where does he get his best ideas? Watch his video now!

Tobias Wilke brings together people from different disciplines and with various backgrounds to stage musicals together. For his works, he has rediscovered the opera genre. We talked to him about the importance of music, his music projects and his teaching studies at the Institute for Music and Music Education at the University of Potsdam in the Potsdam Science Park. Watch his interview now!

Saloni Agarwal, being a microbiology student at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biology of the University of Potsdam, regards it as her duty to work on a better future. In this interview she talks to us about opportunities and ambition as a young scientist, how she stumbled upon just the right place to be and lets us know her favourite spot at the Potsdam Science Park. Take a look!

Always nice to meet her: Melanie Fiebig works as a cook at the Potsdam Science Park. Together with her colleaguse as well as with her good sense of humour and top-secret recipes, ensures every day that all scientists and staff on the Max Planck Campus have enough energy to lift research and other solutions for the future off the ground. Many thanks, Melanie Fiebig!

On the Golm Campus of the University of Potsdam in the Potsdam Science Park, research and development is carried out and innovative ideas are developed. Transferring the resulting knowledge and new technologies into the economy and society at large is the task of the team from Potsdam Transfer, the center for startups, innovation, knowledge and technology transfer at the University of Potsdam. Sascha Thormann is the Managing Director of the institution and reports in an interview about his experiences with Potsdam Transfer and impressive startup ideas.

Marion Krause is archivist at the Brandenburg Main State Archive (BLHA) in the Potsdam Science Park. What she likes most about her job is the connection between history and personal stories, past and present. With 54,000 running metres of historical files and documents at the BLHA – from biographies of important personalities over stories of companies to many historical treasures from the Brandenburg region – there is always something new to discover. Learn more in the interview!

Micha Wijesingha Ahchige, PhD student at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (MPI-MP), dedicates his plant research to a future in which all people have enough food. He is especially interested in the ability of crop plants such as tomatoes to deal with different environmental conditions. Learn what else he likes about being a scientist at the Potsdam Science Park in his interview.

LEA proteins are still a mystery in plant science, which is why Orarat Ginsawaeng is taking a closer look at their functions at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (MPI-MP). Hear about her research and thoughts on the Potsdam Science Park in her interview.

Tina Stavemann from our Welcome Service advises international scientists and researchers on their arrival at the Potsdam Science Park and ensures that everyone has a good start. Her dynamic work also offers her the opportunity to follow how research results are published, how scientists receive awards and how startups are created that transfer new knowledge into the economy. Find out more in her interview!

Doctoral Student Wiebke Sabrowski is researching multi-resistant bacteria at the Fraunhofer IZI-BB (Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses) and hopes to apply what she learns in hospitals to reduce further spreading.

Was the Big Bang really the beginning of our universe or is there more to find out? Dr. Jean-Luc Lehners, Leader of the ERC Research Group “Theoretical Cosmology” at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) and his team at the Potsdam Science Park are investigating these and other questions.

The community of scientists and researchers at the Potsdam Science Park not only supports an innovative and fast-moving environment, but also lends itself to building sustainable relationships with fellow colleagues. Dr. Anne Zemella has been at the PSP for seven years. Currently, she is working on a post-doc at the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses IZI-BB, focussing on the production of proteins. To hear more about her experience and her fascinating research, watch her interview here.

Darya Niakhaichyk, International Officer at the Max Planck Institute of Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), is passionate about her work with international scientists at the Potsdam Science Park and has found the perfect spot to relax and reconnect with nature!

Dr.-Ing. Murat Tutuş, Head of Department “Membranes and Functional Films” at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, believes in sustainable future. He and his team of researchers are developing new membranes made of polymer compounds with special properties at the Potsdam Science Park. Find out more about Dr.-Ing. Murat Tutuş and his membranes research at the Potsdam Science Park in this interview.

Meet Dr. Kerry Gilmore, Groupleader Biomolecular Systems Department at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, and find out about THE most satisfying moment in his career and what he likes about the Potsdam Science Park.

Brit Holland, Director’s Assistant for Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) about her work at the Potsdam Science Park, the international community and why this special research site inspires everybody.