Helmholtz Energy Young Scientist Networking Days 2024
“Energize the World: Create impact with your research!” – this was the motto that brought together around 50 young scientists from the six Helmholtz Energy Centers in Frankfurt on October 7 and 8, 2024. The aim of the event was to promote exchange, provide new impetus, and jointly find ways in which research can make a real contribution to society and industry.
Day 1: From Idea to Project
Accompanied by the maKeIT innovation team from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the participants worked intensively to translate their scientific findings into concrete project ideas. Initial concepts were developed, presented, and refined in small groups. The two most promising ideas were then explored in greater depth by the team and presented at the end of the first day.
A highlight of the day was the inspiring keynote speech by Markus Sauerborn from the Advisory Center for Building-Integrated Photovoltaics at the Helmholtz Center Berlin (HZB). Under the title “From science to society,” he used a real transfer project to show how research can be successfully translated into practice—and what challenges need to be overcome in the process.
Day 2: Presenting ideas and thinking ahead
The second day began with pitches for project ideas—an exciting round full of creative approaches and innovative solutions. Afterwards, Christos Klamouris from axel—Der Energie Accelerator gave valuable insights into the start-up scene in his keynote speech and motivated participants to pursue their ideas further.
The event concluded with the session “MakeIt maKeIT real! How to hack the system,” in which the MakeItmaKeIT team provided practical tips on implementing innovation projects – from the idea to its realization.
Conclusion
Two days full of exchange, inspiration, and creative energy are now behind us. The Helmholtz Energy Young Scientist Networking Days 2024 showed how much potential there is in research—and how important it is to develop this potential together. We are already looking forward to the next round!