Call for Contributions (open until 14 Dec. 2025)
23–25 March 2026 | Berlin, Germany | No Conference Fee!

The grand challenges of our time cannot be solved in isolation – they call for bold ideas, shared knowledge, and collaboration across boundaries. Guided by this conviction, the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) – the alliance between Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – brings together researchers across disciplines and institutions from around the world to jointly discuss innovative, participatory approaches to today’s most pressing societal challenges. 

With its inaugural Grand Challenges Conference, under the theme “Joint Research for Better Futures,” the BUA establishes an academic forum for scholarly exchange. By combining diverse scientific results and approaches, the program demonstrates how responsible, collaborative research can drive progress across disciplines and sectors, generate knowledge that matters, and lead to solutions that effectively address today’s grand challenges. 

Taking place from 23 to 25 March 2026 in Berlin, the conference specifically invites contributions in the following areas: 

·      Addressing Grand Challenges – concepts, visions, and approaches to tackle the complex societal issues of our time & examples of collaborative research for impactful results

·      Social Cohesion – strengthening trust, participation, and democratic resilience 

·      Global Health – exploring the determinants of global health and advancing equity and preparedness 

·      Responsible Innovation in Times of Transformation – ensuring that technological and social innovation serve people and the planet 

·      Climate & Water under Change – adapting to and mitigating the impacts of environmental transformation 

·      Quantum Technologies – unlocking transformative potential of quantum systems to tackle tasks of information processing and communication.

We welcome abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations that share fresh insights, showcase innovative research, or demonstrate inspiring approaches. Contributions should highlight how joint research – across disciplines, perspectives, and professions – can advance knowledge and help create more inclusive and sustainable futures. 

We warmly invite you to submit your contribution by 14 December 2025. Submissions should include:

• A title and abstract (max. 300 words)
• A short biography (max. 300 words)

Proposals can be submitted via https://gc-conference-bua.de/gc-conference-2026/#sessions. 

Full submission guidelines are available here: https://gc-conference-bua.de/gc-conference-2026/#submission-selection. 

Share your research, your ideas, and your vision – and join us in shaping better futures, together. We look forward to welcoming you to Berlin!