YOUR IDEA. YOUR CITY. YOUR POSTER.
IDEA COMPETITION: WHERE ART MEETS SCIENCE
Are you researching the big questions of our time? Then this is your chance: We're putting your scientific work in the spotlight! Together with artists, we'll transform your project into a citywide poster exhibition. Join our ideas competition and experience your research topic on Berlin's streets, on the BUA social media channels, and at the ‘Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften’ where science comes alive in the city for a night.
THE OPEN LAB
The Berlin University Alliance, the partnership between the FU, HU, TU Berlin, and Charité, aims to bring research into the hands of the public. To make Berlin’s diverse research scene visible, we are inviting all individuals and groups working in the city’s science ecosystem to present their projects in THE OPEN LAB. Whether you are at a university, in academia, working on your bachelor thesis, PhD project, or institutional research - we want to hear about your next big idea! We also invite student research projects in particular to participate and groups can also take part in the competition.
We are particularly interested in solutions in the areas of global health, social cohesion, innovation & transfer, quantum technology, and water. Share your exciting work with our 3D artists and be in the running to have your science visible in your city! They will transform your science into art and show it to the public from a completely new perspective. Interested? Join our ideas competition by submitting your idea below!
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO?
1. Apply individually or together with your research group by 15 March 2025 by submitting your idea for solving one of the major transformation topics: Global Health, Social Cohesion, Innovation and Transfer, Quantum Technology, and Water.
2. Does your research fit into one of these themes? Then briefly present your project: What is it about and what is inspiring about your research? How can it improve our lives? Fill out the template on the website!
3. Keep your fingers crossed - our jury consists of three artists who will select five submissions in April and invite the winners to joint design sessions.
WHAT COULD YOU WIN?
The individuals or groups selected by the jury will have their idea visualised into an object representing their research by a 3D artist. The motif will be visible on street posters in Berlin in June 2025 as part of the DAS OFFENE WISSENSLABOR (THE OPEN LAB) campaign and the project will be presented on our social media channels. In addition, you will have the opportunity to present your research at the ‘Long Night of Sciences’ (Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften) on 28 June 2025, and you will receive a framed poster as a prize - signed by the artist. Help us bring science alive by showcasing your work to the public! We look forward to getting to know you and your research - tell us more below!
CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION:
- Only individuals and groups of individuals based in Berlin can apply.
- Your topic suggestion must fit under one of the five thematic areas.
- You agree that your idea and its artistic visualisation can be presented on all channels of the non-commercial campaign.
- The submission must be in German or English.
- You are over 18 years old.
- The deadline for applications is 15 March 2025.
- The detailed terms and conditions can be found under the ‘Teilnahmebedinungen’ section of the website.
CONTACT DETAILS
Lucie Schibel
Campaign Project Lead, Berlin University Alliance
+49 (0) 30 838 65991
wissenslabor [at] berlin-university-alliance.de
TERMS & CONDITIONS
1. Organizer:
Cooperation platform of the Berlin University Alliance
Kleine Präsidentenstraße 1
10178 Berlin
wissenslabor [at] berlin-university-alliance.de
2. Participation:
2.1 Only the following are eligible to participate
2.1.1. individuals or groups of individuals resident in Berlin
2.1.2. individuals or groups with active science-related employment (researchers, students, people working in science in NGOs, think tanks, politics, start-ups, business, consulting)
2.1.3. individuals or groups submitting a topic proposal in one of the five thematic areas (social cohesion, sustainable innovation and transfer, global health, quantum technology, water)
2.1.4. persons or groups who give their consent for the non-commercial exploitation of the idea in the campaign
2.1.5. persons or groups who submit their topic proposal in German or English.
2.1.6. persons over 18 years of age and groups whose members are all over 18 years of age.
2.2 Participation is free of charge and independent of any purchase.
2.3 To participate, the form provided online must be completed in full and submitted.
3. Rights of use to transmitted content, rights of third parties and legal conformity
The content submitted by the participant must not violate legal regulations, third-party rights or public decency. The participant assures that he/she will not submit any content for which he/she does not have the necessary rights, licenses, permissions, consents (e.g. of persons depicted/filmed) or the like. The Berlin University Alliance reserves the right to check, edit, delete or block the content submitted by the participant at any time without giving reasons, in particular if it violates legal or official regulations or morality or if publication is not reasonable for the Berlin University Alliance or any cooperation partners for other reasons.
4. Prize:
4.1 Winners will receive an artistic presentation of their research topic in line with the previous artwork of the campaign DAS OFFENE WISSENSLABOR (see website).
4.2 Posting of the motif in Berlin with a scope of 20 posters.
4.3 A social media post on the social media platforms of the Berlin University Alliance.
4.4 A ticket to the Long Night of the Sciences.
4.5 The opportunity to present your research project as part of the Berlin University Alliance's appearance at the Long Night of the Sciences on 28 June 2025.
4.6 A framed poster from the poster campaign of their research topic with a signature from the artist.
5. Submission period:
The submission period begins on 20 January 2025 and ends on 15 March 2025 at 0:00.
6 Determination of winners:
The jury consists of three artists who are familiar with the campaign THE OPEN LAB. They will select the winners from all qualified entries. Among other things, the inspiration for an artistic realization, clear project description, thematization of the great transformations of our time, diversity of the submitters and topics will be evaluated. The jury's decision is final and cannot be appealed.
7 Notification of the winner:
The winner will be notified by e-mail and has 5 days to respond and accept the prize. If the winner does not respond within this period, the claim to the prize will be forfeited and a new winner will be selected. The participant is responsible for the accuracy of the email address provided.
8. Data protection:
8.1 Point of contact for questions regarding the handling of date:
Janosch Wegener
Data Protection Officer
Janosch.wegener [@] berlin-university-alliance.de
8.2 Collection and processing of personal data
We collect and process the following personal data as part of participation in the competition:
8.2.1. name
8.2.3. e-mail address
8.2.4. age
8.2.5. research area and idea
8.2.6. research institution/organization
8.2.7 Instagram profile (optional)
8.3 Purpose of data processing
The personal data will be processed exclusively for the following purposes:
8.3.1. implementation of the competition (e.g. participation verification,
determination of winnings)
8.3.2. communication with the participants (e.g. notification of winnings)
8.3.3 Statistical evaluation (anonymous)
8.4 Legal basis
The processing of personal data is based on Article 6 GDPR:
8.4.1. art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR: for the performance of a contract to which the submitters are party (e.g. conditions of participation)
8.4.2 Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR: to safeguard our legitimate interests (e.g. implementation and evaluation of the competition)
8.5 Recipients
The data will be treated confidentially. Data will only be passed on to third parties if this is necessary to carry out the competition, e.g. jury members, service providers for sending e-mails.
8.6 Storage period
The data will be stored for the duration of the competition and beyond for as long as is necessary to fulfill the stated purposes or for as long as statutory retention obligations exist.
8.7 Rights of the participants
Participants have the right to:
8.7.1. information about the stored data
8.7.2. rectification of incorrect data
8.7.3. erasure of the data
8.7.4. restriction of data processing
8.7.5. data portability
8.7.6 Objection to the collection, processing and use of data
8.8 Revocation of consent
If the participant has given his/her consent to data processing, he/she may withdraw this consent at any time with effect for the future.
8.9 Right to lodge a complaint
Participants have the right to complain to a data protection supervisory authority about the processing of their personal data.
9 Liability:
The organizer shall not be liable for damages arising in connection with participation in the competition, unless such damages are due to intent or gross negligence on the part of the organizer or its vicarious agents.
10 Legal recourse:
Legal recourse is excluded.
11. Other:
The competition can be canceled by the artists until acceptance of the prize. Acceptance will be recorded in a short document with signature.
DATA PROTECTION
For the purposes of identifying and tracking unauthorized attempts to access the website of this domain and for the purposes of optimizing the website, usage data is stored when the web pages of the above-mentioned domain are used and used to create anonymized access statistics.In doing so, we strictly limit ourselves to what is technically necessary and comply with the statutory provisions. We only collect and use personal data if you have consented to this or if we are legally permitted to do so. It is important to us that you understand why we collect which data and what we use it for. We explain this in the following information on data protection.
Contact: medien [at] berlin-university-alliance.de
What is personal data?
Personal data is information that can be used to identify you. This includes information such as your name, your postal or IP address (if not anonymized), telephone number and e-mail address. It does not include information that is not associated with your identity (such as anonymous log files in which the browser types used are logged).
Data provided by you (e.g. data entered via a web form) may be or contain personal data. We only store your content at your request and to the extent necessary for the respective procedure (e.g. for an event registration) or for data backup. The respective use of such data is indicated in the respective context.
Accessing the web pages of www.berlin-university-alliance.de
When you access the web pages of the above-mentioned site or sub-domain, the log files automatically created by the server store the web page you visited, the page from which you came to us (for search engines also the terms entered), the date, time, the operating system you are using, characteristics of the display used (resolution in pixels and the so-called pixel ratio for recognizing high-resolution displays) and the browser you are using (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, etc.). In addition, the size of the transferred data volume, a so-called HTTP status code (e.g. to identify a successfully transferred web page) and the IP address of the accessing computer (e.g. PC or smartphone) are stored, whereby this IP address is immediately anonymized by deleting the last octet of this address.
The information stored in the log files is only collected and used for anonymized evaluation for statistical purposes (e.g. to analyze usage behavior, which pages of the website of the above-mentioned site or sub-domain are accessed, which browsers are used, etc.) and to improve our services. The IP address is not assigned to the user ID. It is not possible to assign the analysis results to a specific IP address.
Who stores data?
The data processed as described above (see 1. and 2.) is collected and used electronically by Freie Universität Berlin's Center for Digital Systems (CeDiS) and stored in the university data center of Freie Universität Berlin (ZEDAT).
It will not be passed on to third parties or used outside Freie Universität Berlin unless you have given your consent or we are legally obliged or authorized to pass on data (e.g. for reasons of criminal prosecution, in the case of suspected plagiarism or other copyright infringements).
Cookies
Like other Internet providers, we use so-called cookies. A cookie is a small entry that is stored in special file directories on your computer. Information about your visit to our website can be stored in cookies.
However, our cookies do not contain any personal data (such as IP addresses or login data), but only anonymous “session IDs”. Some of the cookies we use remain on your computer so that the web server recognizes your computer on your next visit. Most browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, etc.) are set by default to accept cookies. However, you can set your browser to reject cookies or ask you for confirmation beforehand. If you reject cookies, however, you may no longer be able to use certain functions of the website.
Active components
Java and Javascript applications are sometimes used on the web pages of the above-mentioned domain. You can set your browser - if necessary by using appropriate, freely available additional programs - to reject the execution of such applications or to request confirmation from you beforehand. However, if you reject these applications, you may no longer be able to use certain functions of the website.
Information
If personal data has been transmitted to us (e.g. via corresponding web forms), you will receive contact details in the respective context of the corresponding web pages in our offer of the above-mentioned site or sub-domain, via which you can obtain information about the data stored about you free of charge upon request. The information can also be provided electronically at your request.
Change in data protection practice
In view of the constant changes on the Internet, especially in terms of technology and the relevant legal situation, we reserve the right to adapt our data protection practice from time to time if this becomes necessary. Such changes to our data protection practices will be announced here on this page two calendar weeks in advance, provided that this remains possible due to the circumstances causing the change.
IMPRINT
LEGAL DOMICILE
Cooperation platform of the Berlin University Alliance | Kleine Präsidentenstraße 1, 10178 Berlin
LEGAL FORM
Public corporation (Körperschaft öffentlichen Rechts)
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES
Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler (Spokesman of the Executive Board)
Dr. Alexandra-Gwyn Paetz (Managing Director)