Institutes

Polymers are an integral part of life. As the main constituents of plastics we encounter them in the home, in the automotive and aerospace industries and in medical and electrical engineering.

The Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses Branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology focusses on the development of platform technologies and biotechnological applications in agriculture, food safety and environmental testing as well as drug development and diagnostics. To provide flexible and easy-to use devices or solutions the key aspects of activities encompass complex sample preparations, data collection, miniaturization and automation.

The mission of the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) is to conduct experimental and clinical research in the field of nutrition and health. Scientists at the DIfE pursue these scientific goals by interdisciplinary cooperation comprising a broad spectrum of experimental, medical and epidemiological methods.

Therefore the researchers focus on three areas:

The Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) is one of a kind on the German university landscape: It is the only institute offering a degree in IT Systems Engineering – a hands-on alternative to conventional computer science programs. HPI’s School of Design Thinking offers students from all branches of study an innovative, supplementary program in the creative development of particularly user-friendly products and services. Via its Internet-educational platform, openHPI, HPI offers anyone interested from anywhere in the world free, open online courses on information technology.

Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam

Directors: Prof. Dr. Frank Bösch, Prof. Dr. Martin Sabrow

The Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (Leibniz-Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam – ZZF) is a research institute for German and European contemporary history in the 20th century and its impact on the present. As a member of the Leibniz Association, half of its basic endowment is funded by the Federal Government and half by the states. In addition, the institute raises third-party funds for research projects.

The institute was founded in 1992 as one of the first Max Planck Institutes in East Germany and soon became one of the leading research institutions worldwide.

Colloid and interface science deals with very small structures within the nano- and micrometer range. On the one hand this domain represents a “world of hidden dimensions”, on the other hand these tiny structures define the properties of materials and biosystems on the mesoscopic and macroscopic level.

Founded in 1994, the MPI for Molecular Plant Physiology in Golm conducts basic research and has already made an international name for itself as a cutting-edge research institute in the field of metabolic processes in plants. The three directors Ralph Bock, Mark Stitt and Lothar Willmitzer currently head 25 working groups, led by junior researchers. Overall, the institute employs about 400 people.