Hamburg Science Summit 2025

Highlights

• Meet leading voices such as Manuel Heitor (Chair, EU Horizon Expert Group), Maria Leptin (President, ERC), Patrick Cramer (President, Max Planck Society), Robbert Dijkgraaf (President elect, ISC), Bettina Rockenbach (President, Leopoldina), Walter Rosenthal (President, HRK), Sheila Jasanoff (Harvard University) and Silvio Funtowicz (University of Bergen).
• Join high-level roundtables hosted by the Max Planck Society, the Leopoldina, CoARA, SPRIN-D, the Young Academy of Europe and Table.Media’s Research.Table.
• Listen in as DIE ZEIT – Das Politikteil, one of Germany’s leading political podcasts, records a live edition at the Summit.
• Celebrate breakthrough science at the presentation of the €1 million Körber European Science Prize – one of Europe’s most prestigious research awards – on 19 September.

Registration

Attendance registration for the Hamburg Science Summit 2025 is not yet open. Further information will be available shortly.

Thursday, 18 September 2025

09:30-10:00 | Welcome coffee

10:00-10:10 | Welcome address

• Eva Nemela (Member of the Executive Board, Körber-Stiftung)

10:10-10:55 | Keynote and discussion

• Manuel Heitor (Chair, EU Expert Group for Horizon Europe; former Minister of Science, Portugal)

11:00-12:00 | Opening panel

Directions, please! Europe’s agenda for science and innovation
Plenary table | Moderated by Terry Martin

• Patrick Cramer (President, Max Planck Society)
• Maria Leptin (President, European Research Council)
• Further speakers: TBD

12:00-13:15 | Lunch break

13:15-14:05 | Parallel sessions

Bridge over troubled waters: The future of transatlantic relations in R&I and beyond
Plenary table | In cooperation with Table.Media | Moderated by Tim Gabel

• Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln (President, WZB Berlin Social Science Center)
• Ruppert Stüwe (Member of the German Bundestag)
• Further speakers: TBD

Shaping Europe’s innovation ecosystems: Local roots, national strategies and European visions
Roundtable | Hosted by Joachim Herz Foundation, Stifterverband and Volkswagen Foundation

• Sabine Kunst (Chair of the Executive Board, Joachim Herz Foundation)
• Volker Meyer-Guckel (Secretary-General, Stifterverband)
• Georg Schütte (CEO, Volkswagen Foundation)

Beyond ‘excellence’: What does it mean to support the best research?
Roundtable | Hosted by Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA)

• Cameron Neylon (Steering Board Member, CoARA; Curtin University Perth)
• Mathijs Vleugel (Head, Helmholtz Open Science Office)
• Further speakers: TBD

14:15-15:15 Parallel sessions

We did it our way – Europe’s science and innovation model revisited
Plenary table | Moderated by Helen Czerski

• Robbert Dijkgraaf (President-elect, International Science Council; former Minister of Science, Netherlands)
• Sheila Jasanoff (Harvard University)
• Peter Strohschneider (EU Special Advisor; former President, German Research Foundation)

Scientific policy advice: Between policy relevance and scientific independence
Roundtable | Hosted by Max Planck Society

• Ricarda Winkelmann (Director, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology)
• Etienne Bassot (Director, EU Directorate for Transformation, Innovation and Health)
• Silvio Funtowicz (University of Bergen)
• Nicole Grobert (University of Oxford; former Chair, EU Group of Chief Scientific Advisors)

Closing the innovation gap: Does Europe need an agency for disruptive innovation?
Roundtable | Hosted by German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIN-D)

• Andreas Zaby (SPRIN-D; former President, Berlin School of Economics and Law)
• David Matthews (International Editor, Science|Business)
• Christopher Palmberg (Senior Director, Business Finland)
• Further speakers: TBD

Science by AI: Promise or threat?
Roundtable | Hosted by Young Academy of Europe

• Katalin Solymosi (Outgoing Chair, Young Academy of Europe)
• Philip Campbell (Former Editor-in-Chief, Springer Nature)
• Alison Noble (Foreign Secretary and Chair AI Working Group, Royal Society)
• Oleg Ruchayskiy (CEO, Prophy AI)

15:15-16:00 Coffee break

16:00-16:50 Parallel sessions

Going quantum? New strategies for digital leadership in Germany and Europe
Plenary table |

• Speakers: TBD

The future of scientific freedom: Comparative perspectives
Roundtable | Hosted by German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

• Bettina Rockenbach (President, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina)
• Marek Konarzewski (President, Polish Academy of Sciences)
• Walter Rosenthal (President, German Rectors’ Conference)
• Mark Walport (Foreign Secretary, Royal Society)

Large-scale research: A cornerstone of Europe’s R&I strategy
Roundtable | Hosted by German Electron Synchrotron DESY

• Helmut Dosch (Senior Advisor and former Director, German Electron Synchrotron DESY)
• Lars Börjesson (Council Member, European Spallation Source)
• Carla Seidel (Senior Vice President Analytical and Material Science, BASF)
• Robert-Jan Smits (President, Eindhoven University of Technology; former Director-General, EU DG for Research and Innovation)

What’s it like to be a scientist? (for registered school students only)
Young Science Meet-Up | Hosted by Young Science Hamburg

• Lena Cords (Helmholtz Munich)
• Manuel Häußler (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces)
• Further speakers: TBD

17:00-18:00 DIE ZEIT – Das Politikteil (live podcast)

• Guests: TBD

18:00-18:10 Closing remarks

18:30 Dinner (transfer to Penthouse Elbpanorama)

Friday, 19 September 2025

8:45-10:15 Breakfast meeting (invitation only)
Hosted by Chamber of Commerce Hamburg

11:00-12:30 Körber European Science Prize (registration and ID required)
Award ceremony | Hamburg City Hall, Great Hall

12:30-14:00 Körber European Science Prize (registration and ID required)
Reception​​​​​ | Hamburg City Hall