• Skip to Management
  • Skip to Main menu
  • Skip to Page content
Adlershof Logo
  • WISTA
  • WISTA.Plan
  • WISTA.Service
WISTA direkt
Search
  • de
  • en
  • Adlershof Logo
  • About / Directory
    • Companies / Institutes
    • Science City in numbers
    • Direction / Maps
      • Bus / Train
      • By Car
      • Bicycle
      • Orientation / Maps
      • Trail of Thoughts
  • Newsroom
    • Overview
    • News
      • Social Media Stream
      • Success Stories
    • Events / Calendar
      • Adlershof Dissertation Award
      • Adlershof Research Forum
      • Long Night of Sciences Berlin
    • Adlershof Journal
    • Hot Topics
      • Adlershof Mission "Grand Challenges"
      • Circular Economy
      • Digital infra­structure / 5G campus network
    • Photos / Flyer / Downloads
      • Magazine archive
    • WISTA-Editorial Staff
  • Science / Technology
    • Overview
    • Technology Centres
      • Photonics / Optics
      • Biotech­nology / Envi­ron­ment
      • Micro­systems / Materi­als
      • IT / Media
      • Renewable Energy / Photovoltaics
    • Non-university Research
    • Universities / Colleges
      • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
      • Services for Students
    • Young Talents / STEM / School Labs
    • Start-Ups
      • Adlershof Start-Up Centre IGZ
      • Adlershof Founder’s Lab
    • Networks / Management
      • Campus Club Adlershof
  • TV / Media
    • TV and Movie Production
    • Media Services / Companies
    • News and Events
    • Filming Locations
    • Costume Hire
    • GDR Film Archive
    • Tickets / Booking
  • Properties
    • Overview
    • Real Estate Rent
      • Office Space / Workspace / Laboratories
    • Real Estate Offers
      • Commercial Properties
    • ST3AM Working Environments / Coworking
    • Residential
    • Construction
      • Building Projects
      • Architecture
      • Webcam
  • Service
    • Overview
    • Gastronomy / Sport / Culture / Shopping
    • Jobs / Market
    • Social and Healthcare Facilities
    • WISTA-Business Services
    • Event Services / Guided Tours / Hotels
    • Facility Management
    • Downloads / Photos / Videos
    • Jobs for Refugees
  • Hood
    • Overview
    • History
    • Nature Park
    • Culture
    • Technology Park
    • Digital Tours
  • WISTA
  • WISTA.Plan
  • WISTA.Service
WISTA direkt

News

  • Overview
  • News
  • Events / Calendar
  • Adlershof Journal
  • Hot Topics
  • Photos / Flyer / Downloads
  • WISTA-Editorial Staff
  • Adlershof
  • Newsroom
  • News
12. January 2022

A driving force

30 years of IGAFA, the Joint Initiative of Non-University Affiliated Research Institutes in Adlershof e.V.

  • Ingolf Hertel © WISTA Management GmbH
    Long-standing masterminds of IGAFA: Ingolf Hertel, the former speaker, … © WISTA Management GmbH
  • Ursula Westphal © WISTA Management GmbH
    … and managing director Ursula Westphal © WISTA Management GmbH
  • Ulrich Panne © WISTA Management GmbH
    Takes up the torch for the Joint Initiative: speaker Ulrich Panne © WISTA Management GmbH

A name that says it all: The Joint Initiative of Non-University Affiliated Research Institutes in Adlershof e.V. (IGAFA) was a driving force behind establishing Adlershof as a location for high technology. It celebrated its 30th birthday on 11 August 2022. “We are more political than ever with what we’re doing today,” says Ulrich Panne, speaker of IGAFA.

1 January 1992: A dozen of evaluated research institutes take up operation. They form the core of the “integrated landscape of industry and research” that was to be created in Berlin Adlershof, formerly home to East Germany’s Academy of the Sciences and its natural science research hub. The idea: Research and industry will unleash their innovative force and drive Berlin’s economy forward.

The reality looked a bit different: Two state-run companies and three senate departments were claiming responsibility. There was a lively “mess of bureaucratic administrative action”, says Ingolf Hertel, long-standing speaker of IGAFA, retrospectively. It was his initiative that resulted in the local institutes founding the Joint Initiative of Non-University Affiliated Research Institutes in Adlershof (IGAFA) on 11 August 1992. With an impassioned plea, they called for their institutions to receive safe homes as well as uniform management of the site and the setting up of an infrastructure. The appeal had a lasting effect on policy-makers. The institutes were secured, the infrastructure was refurbished, and management of the site was transferred to WISTA Management GmbH. Adlershof transformed into a modern “City for Science, Business, and Media”.

In 1998, the move of Humboldt-Universität’s natural science institutes to Adlershof got underway. IGAFA had vehemently campaigned for this right off the bat. “Research institutions with different funding structures can only make a difference together as a registered association,” explains Ursula Westphal, IGAFA’s managing director. For this reason, the Joint Initiative was included in the associations register and had its non-profit status recognised in 1998. “By doing so, we could take over operations for our international meeting centres (IBZs) in Adlershof and Köpenick as well as the Adlershof library, which evolved from the library collection of the former East German Academy of the Sciences.” Since then, IBZ has welcomed 500 researchers every year.

The main mission of IGAFA is “to foster science and research.” Its research office organises about 100 events for fostering cooperation every year. Their “Academic Lunch” event has attracted numerous renowned speakers, including eight Nobel Prize winners. Since 2002, HU, IGAFA and WISTA have been giving out the annual Adlershof Dissertation Award. In 2009, LaNa, the Ladies Network Adlershof, was launched, aiming at the “long-term and sustainable empowerment of women’s careers.” Jointly, IGAFA, HU, and WISTA host the bi-annual site conference “Adlershof Research Forum”.

How does IGAFA see its own future? In 2020, it was among the founders of BR 50, the Berlin Research 50 association. Its members include almost all non-university institutes and research centres in Greater Berlin. “Our activities in BR 50 enable us to foster networking in Berlin’s science and research community beyond the boundaries of Adlershof,” says Ulrich Panne. This is in keeping with the spirit of the “Berlin University Alliance”, which has committed itself to tackling global challenges (“Grand Challenges”). “They are very complex,” says Panne, “new technologies alone will not be the solution.” Rather, solutions require interdisciplinary research. This, in turn, requires a “an appropriate location.” IGAFA therefore supports the initiative to set up a “Grand Challenges Centre” in Adlershof.

How political is IGAFA today? Ulrich Panne’s answer is clear: “In today’s era of ‘post-truth’, more than ever, it is important to highlight the benefits science has for society. In this respect, what we do today is more political than ever.

Dr. Peter Strunk for Adlershof Journal

  • IGAFA – Research Network of the Technology Park Adlershof
Research Adlershof Journal Anniversaries / History

Related News

Adlershof Journal 1/2022, cover

Adlershof Journal January/February 2022

How knowledge is created
  • LinkedInshare0
  • Facebookshare0
  • WhatsAppshare0
  • E-Mail

The development of the Science and Technology Park Berlin Adlershof was and is co-financed by the European Union namely by EFRE. This concerns infrastructure development like construction of technology centres. Furthermore EFRE is used for international projects.

  • © WISTA Management GmbH
  • Legal Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Social Media Guide
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • International
Member of:
Zukunftsort Adlershof Logo