Daimler und Benz Stiftung - current

Research Forum
Call for proposals for project funding

The “Research Forum” funding line brings together projects from the Daimler and Benz Foundation characterized by scientific originality, social relevance, and a clearly manageable scope ” with an overall sum of up to € 150,000.

Scholarship program
Postdoctoral scholarship program for 2026

Applications for scholarships are open until 1 October 2025 via the online application portal.

Ladenburg Roundtable
“Ladenburg Roundtable” conference format

With its “Ladenburg Roundtable” conference format, the Daimler and Benz Foundation offers a free space for interdisciplinary reflection on research topics of scientific and social relevance. The roundtables are open to all disciplines.

Bertha Benz Prize 2025
Hatice Ceren Ates received award for her dissertation

The Bertha Benz Prize, endowed with €15,000, was presented to Dr.-Ing. Hatice Ceren Ates from the Technical University of Munich on July 24, 2025. She has developed a biosensor that can detect antibiotic levels in the breath, enabling individualized therapies.

Bertha Benz Lecture 2025
From bird flight to fryer grease: The future of flight

Dr. Sabine Klauke, Airbus, Head of Digital Design Manufacturing and Services „Next Gen“, gave this year's Bertha Benz Lecture on Juli 24, 2025. The Bertha Benz Prize 2025 was awarded afterwards.

Moments for Research
Learning mechanisms of children

In his lecture, Sebastian Frank will give an insight into his current research.

Ladenburger Diskurs
Quo vadis, OSCE? 50 years after the Helsinki Accords

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Accords, this Ladenburg Roundtable will take a critical perspective on the future of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It will focus on the following key questions ...

$Math, how awful! How fractions can perhaps be taught better$

Press Release
Math, how awful! How fractions can perhaps be taught better

Pupils learn fractions in sixth grade math lessons, however, this subject matter is extremely challenging, as it is the first time they have had to break with their previous knowledge of natural numbers. In the research project "Motivated Action in Learning Fractions with Digital Tools", mathematics didactics expert Frank Reinhold investigated the extent to which digital methods can make learning easier.

Press Release
"Science Streets" – How comics are used to explain neuroscience

The winner of the "Innovative science communication" competition held at the beginning of 2025 is doctoral student Agata Patyczek from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. In 2026, comics on the subject of neuroscience will be hanging in Leipzig city center and will be accessible to the general public in an understandable form.

Ladenburger Diskurs
Beyond nudging: Behavioral interventions for the promotion of environmental sustainability in organizations

Environmental crises such as climate change and the depletion of natural resources pose serious threats to human health and to economic and political stability. To meet these challenges, ecological sustainability must be rapidly increased ...

Dialog in the Museum
Luxury and beauty

A lecture by Prof. Dr. Lambert Wiesing, Lehrstuhl für Bildtheorie und Phänomenologie, Institut für Philosophie, Universität Jena. The talk is available as a vidoepodcast here.

Ladenburg Roundtable
Is it essential to choose between mental health and maintaining the credibility of a statement in court?

Many people are exposed to potentially traumatic occurrences over the course of their lives – for example acts of violence, sexual assault, or muggings. Some people affected then develop a trauma disorder in the form of an acute stress reaction or ...

Ladenburg Roundtable
Industrial espionage and spying on competitors

The incidence of industrial espionage and spying on competitors has been steadily increasing since the 1990s. This affects not only large corporations, but also small and medium-sized companies and research institutions.