Einstein Lecture #3: „Kontrollierte Wissenschaft?“

In the USA, the government is actively intervening in the scientific community with the Executive Order Restoring Gold Standard Science – under the guise of transparency, reproducibility, and open science.


What at first glance sounds like modernization reveals considerable risks upon closer inspection: The political control of scientific standards, the thematically controlled allocation of funding, the restriction or deletion of entire research datasets, and the open culture war against research critical of the government paint a picture of an ideologized science policy whose approach bears authoritarian traits.


The panel will explore the consequences of these developments for international academic freedom – and what conclusions can be drawn from them, particularly for Germany.


On the panel:

• Prof. Dr. Klaus Ferdinand Gärditz, Professor of Public Law at the University of Bonn
  
• Prof. Dr. Johannes Grave, Vice President of the German Research Foundation
  
• Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal, President of the German Rectors' Conference
  
• Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann, Minister for Science, Energy, Climate Protection and the Environment of the State of Saxony-Anhalt
  

Moderated by Dr. Anna-Lena Scholz, Editor in the Science section of the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT



The discussion will focus on the political instrumentalization of scientific reform movements, the structural weaknesses of democratic safeguards, and the role of science itself:

Where do threats arise – and what preventative measures should science, institutions, funding organizations, and politicians take to ensure their independence?



The event will be held in German.

Admission is free, but registration is required.

Following the event, the Einstein Foundation Berlin invites you to a small reception.