Berlin. 03 March 2022. The charitable Falling Walls Foundation announces a global Call for Nominations for the Science Breakthroughs of the Year 2022. Until 15 May 2022, academics and academic institutions, universities, research organizations, companies, foundations and research institutes can nominate projects in ten categories. The renowned juries, chaired by Helga Nowotny, President Emeritus of the European Research Council, will identify the best admissions. On 9 November 2022 ten scientific breakthroughs of the year will be presented to the global audience on stage of the Falling Walls Science Summit 2022 in Berlin and via livestream.
This year’s global call for nominations is overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. The Falling Walls Foundation stands in solidarity with our friends who courageously strive for peace, self-determination and democracy.
Nomination categories include Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Social Sciences and Humanities, Art and Science, Future Learning (formerly Digital Education), Science and Innovation Management, Emerging Talents (Falling Walls Lab), Science Start-ups (Falling Walls Venture), and Science Engagement (Falling Walls Engage).
Global society is facing some of the greatest challenges of our time. The development of the pandemic demonstrated how essential science is in addressing the present crises. Dr. Imke Rajamani, executive director of the Falling Walls Foundation, emphasizes, “Excellent research and science communication must become integral parts of the public discourse. Understanding and trusting science is paramount for our future. For years, the Falling Walls Science Summit has been committed to communicating the most important scientific breakthroughs to the public, and we look forward to all the nominations we receive this year.”
Since the first gathering in 2009, the Falling Walls Science Summit has become a leading international, interdisciplinary, and intersectional forum for scientific breakthroughs and scientific dialogue between science and society. The event takes place annually in Berlin from 7 till 9 November, in commemoration of the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall, and focuses on the question, “What are the next walls to fall in science and society?” Featuring Falling Walls Pitches (7 November), Falling Walls Circle (8 November), and Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year (9 November), the Falling Walls Science Summit is a meeting place for representatives from science, business, politics, media, and civil society. Participants discuss the potential of scientific breakthroughs to solve grand challenges and shape a sustainable future.
About Falling Walls Foundation:
The Falling Walls Foundation gGmbH is a non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany, with the goal to communicate outstanding science and research to society. Through numerous projects, the organization brings together an international network of science, society and policy to promote breakthrough thinking and find solutions to the greatest challenges of our time. Every year the Falling Walls Foundation hosts international scientific events Berlin Science Week and the Falling Walls Science Summit, which take place around the day of the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall in November. Other projects include Falling Walls Lab for emerging science talents, Falling Walls Engage for innovative science communication, Falling Walls Venture for science start-ups, Young Entrepreneurs in Science for PhD students and postdocs, and Female Science Talents, which promotes inclusive excellence and leadership in science and business. Since 2020, the Foundation has organized the Creative Bureaucracy Festival, an international event for innovative public administration and public service. The Foundation is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Berlin Senate, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the Berlin Museum of Natural History (Museum für Naturkunde) and PD – public sector advisory, as well as numerous recognized academic institutions, foundations, companies and NGOs. More: falling-walls.com/foundation
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