Berlin Science Week 2025
For the third year in a row, NCCR SPIN took part in Berlin Science Week. Under the motto “Beyond Now”, this year’s international science outreach festival ran from 1–10 November and, as always, featured hundreds of events and exhibitions. Over the course of ten days, researchers from around the globe presented their work and highlighted its societal impact to thousands of visitors. As in previous editions, the festival revolved around two main venues: the Campus and the Forum. Once again, NCCR SPIN contributed to both programs, with one additional twist: the Inspiration Stage.
This year, two distinct teams were formed. Aremii Efimov (University of Basel), Aakash Shandiliya (University of Basel) and Haripriya Pettugani (University of Basel / Moth) worked on the Campus project alongside outreach officer Marie Le Dantec and managing director Marilena Longobardi. Maria Spethmann, Renato Dantas, Abhikbrar Sarkhar, Yang Liu (Unversity of Basel) and Gil Fontimayor (FHNW) were guided by Marie Le Dantec to produce an art and science installation for the festival’s Forum program. Our financial officer Daniel Spingies reinforced our team onsite.
The Campus took place at the Museum für Naturkunde on the weekend of 1-2 November. Based on the installation designed for the previous editions, the NCCR SPIN booth was expanded with a few additional items designed for our younger audience! Haripriya wrote a short quantum story aimed at 5-10 year olds, and the team added a wheel of fortune that the public can turn whenever they didn’t know what to ask the crew: they would then be assigned a random question that they could discuss with the scientists onsite. Artemii and Aakash took the challenge of making quantum computing more visual by rearranging and rewriting our panel explaining bit vs. qubits. Our team of young researchers spent two full days engaging with visitors about quantum computing, surrounded by dinosaur skeletons. Thousands of enthusiastic and curious people of all ages stopped by our booth, eager to ask their most pressing questions!
For the first time, two of our researchers—Leena Anthony (FHNW) and Haripriya Pettugani—took part in the Campus Inspiration Stage program. They delivered a 12-minute talk introducing their research to a general audience. In preparation, they benefited from a dedicated workshop offered by Berlin Science Week, which helped them craft an engaging and accessible presentation. Their talk was met with enthusiastic applause. Congratulations to both!
The Forum program was hosted at Holzmarkt25, a vibrant creative district in central Berlin. The festival emphasized the intersection of art and science, with small gallery spaces nestled throughout the artistic venue. Our Berlin Science Week team showcased an artwork titled “LooQ Closer,” an installation conceived and fully created by this year’s group of young NCCR SPIN physicists and designers. The installation encouraged visitors to immerse themselves in the peculiar realm of quantum phenomena. A series of interactive lampshades drew people in, inviting them to take a closer look into some quantum physics phenomena, and to experience its strangeness as though they were part of it.
Additionally, James Wootton and Marilena Longobardi hosted and joined the panel discussion “Quantum Art in the Making,” where they were accompanied by Berlin artist Roman Lipski as well as Moth Quantum researchers João Ferreira and Astryd Park. Together, they presented Moth Quantum’s newest creative tool, Quantum Brush, a digital tools that transforms images using quantum-inspired principles and algorithms. The session was moderated by Marilena Longobardi.
Once again, this Berlin Science Week drew an impressive crowd throughout its ten-day program. More than 10,000 people explored the Campus during its two open days, with a comparable number visiting the Forum. Our young researchers engaged with hundreds of visitors of all ages and backgrounds, inspiring many to get interested in quantum science and quantum computing. NCCR SPIN warmly thanks all the teams for their commitment and enthusiasm!
