Forum Junge Spitzenforschung
Once a year, the Stiftung Industrieforschung and Berlin universities look for young scientists with original and practically relevant ideas and approaches to solutions that have emerged from their innovative basic research as part of the "Forum Junge Spitzenforschung" science competition. This year, the focus is on Water & Water Management.
Applications can be submitted until 26 October 2025.
Pitches and award ceremony on 17 November 2025
Contact
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Our Topic 2025:
Water & Water Management
Water is vital and omnipresent – but even in Germany, it is becoming increasingly scarce: groundwater is at risk, every second adminsitrative district is already experiencing water stress, soils are drying out and rivers are carrying less water. Nevertheless, water can be much more than just a scarce resource – innovations in the field of water technologies and water management represent a fundamental building block for industry, nature and societies of the future.
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6 researchers,
6 pitches, € 42,000 prize money.
The Forum Junge Spitzenforschung is a young talent competition for application ideas from research. Six teams of young scientists compete with their ideas in front of a jury of top-class business experts and the audience for first place, endowed with €12,000 for free further use in the context of their own research! Second and third place are endowed with €10,000 and €8,000 respectively and the remaining finalists can look forward to prize money of €4,000.
Flüssig bleiben?
The whole campaign on "Water & Water Management".
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To Be Announced
Once all applications have been received, the jury and the six finalists will be announced here in November. The programme for the final will then be published and it will be possible to register as a guest for the final.
Final 2025
On 17 November 2025, the Forum Junge Spitzenforschung will award prizes for the most innovative applications in the field of Water & Water Management. Six young researchers will be honored.
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Past events
Congratulations to all winners of the "Forum Junge Spitzenforschung 2024": Food & Nutrients
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Special thanks
We would like to thank the Stiftung Industrieforschung for their kind support and for providing the prize money.
The partners
The event is organized in the "Science & Startups" network of the Berlin universities Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Technische Universität Berlin as well as Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
The organizer
As a branch of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Humboldt-Innovation organizes the "Forum Junge Spitzenforschung".
