From 24 to 26 June 2025, the Max Planck Society is hosting its annual meeting in Magdeburg, bringing together around 500 guests, including both internal members and external participants. The programme will feature a range of events and committee meetings, with two highlights at its core: the awarding of the Harnack Medal and the Plenary Assembly.
The Plenary Assembly will take place on 25 June 2025 in St. John's Church in Magdeburg.
© Andreas Lander / MVGM GmbH
Awarding of the Harnack Medal
The Harnack Medal is the highest honour awarded by the Max Planck Society, given in recognition of exceptional contributions to science. On Tuesday, 24 June 2024, Edelgard Bulmahn, former Vice-President of the German Bundestag and former Federal Minister of Research, will be presented with this prestigious award. The ceremony will take place at the Millennium Tower, featuring addresses by Reiner Haseloff, Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt, and Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society.
Ceremonial gathering with panel discussion
A ceremonial gathering will be held on Wednesday evening, 25 June 2025, opened by Heiko Mohrs, Lower Saxony's Minister of Science, who is also the new Chairman of the Joint Science Conference of the Federal Government and the Länder (GWK). In his opening remarks, he will outline the strategic goals of German research policy in light of the recent change of government in Berlin. Following this, Max Planck President Patrick Cramer will deliver a speech on the critical role of free basic research and technology transfer in times of geopolitical upheaval.
Research lays the foundation for the transition to a resource-efficient and crisis-proof industry of tomorrow. Innovative approaches from the scientific community, such as alternative materials and advanced recycling technologies, demonstrate how this transition can be achieved in principle. But what do solutions and business models that are recyclable and profitable look like? Researchers from the Max Planck Society will provide answers to these questions from an engineering and economic perspective. The two other panel guests take a different perspective - the entrepreneurial one. Moderated by Susanne Schäfer, editor at the business magazine brand eins, they discuss how the circular economy can be implemented as the key to the future and why now is the right time to do so:
- Dietmar Harhoff, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
- Susanne Kadner, co-founder of CIRCULAR REPUBLIC & director of UnternehmerTUM
- Kai Sundmacher, director at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems
- Ralf P. Thomas, Chief Financial Officer of Siemens AG
Max Planck in Saxony-Anhalt
Three Max Planck Institutes are located in Saxony-Anhalt and employ around 550 people. Around 250 of these employees have a foreign passport. Women make up almost 40 percent of the workforce.
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg
- Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Saale)
- Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics, Halle (Saale)
