🌿Summer HACA Newsletter 2026 🌿


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Summer HACA News 2026

Welcome to the HACA Newsletter!

Spring went by so fast this year! It’s already time for our summer issue.

We are taking a moment to reflect on an exciting first half of the year—filled with such a variety of events and an alumni gathering in Toronto.

Looking ahead, we are especially excited to see many of our alumni from the US and Canada in Heidelberg during at the 30^th anniversary of Heidelberg Alumni International (HAI).

Have a great summer!

Best wishes,

Katja and Melanie

Dr. Katja Simons, Executive Director & Melanie Grossmann, Program Officer

Heidelberg University Association

News from Universität Heidelberg

Heidelberg University – University of Excellence

In March the German Science and Humanities Council and the German Research Foundation announced that Heidelberg would remain a University of Excellence. Heidelberg University has successfully defended its excellence status in the nationwide competition. This means that the university will receive funding for another seven years in order to continue strengthening its scientific and scholarly performance based on a strategic concept for the whole institution. Read more here.

New audiMax in Neuenheimer Feld

In April the audiMAX Lecture Hall and Study Center officially opened. This impressive building in Neuenheimer Feld was financed by the Klaus Tschira Stiftung. It has a large lecture hall for 900 people and two smaller lecture halls, as well as 440 reading and study places. Spacious study and common areas provide facilities for private study, group work, meet-ups, communication, and exhibits. Read more here.

23 Joint Initiatives Selected for Funding

The strategic partnership between Heidelberg University and Harvard University is now seeing the launch of the first joint projects by researchers from the two institutions. In August 2025, their respective leading representatives signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to broaden the existing cooperation. 23 initiatives were chosen for funding in the first selection procedure. In all, around 220 researchers are involved – mainly in early career phases. Read more here.

Newsroom

Stay up to date via the Heidelberg University Newsroom

Watch lectures, discussions, and presentations on Heidelberg University's YouTube channel | Hei_Online (mostly in German)

News from Heidelberg Alumni International (HAI)

30 Years of HAI: July 24-26, 2026 in Heidelberg

In the summer atmosphere of Heidelberg, HAI will be celebrating its 30^thanniversary. The program is centered around the university and the city, on alumnae and alumni from all over the world, and offers opportunities to reconnect with old acquaintances and make new contacts. A highlight will be a ceremony in the Great Hall (Alte Aula) of the Old University with Rector Prof. Dr. Frauke Melchior and a moderated discussion with selected alumni, on the impact of the university on their careers and lives, a reception with the Mayor of Heidelberg, Prof. Dr. Eckart Würzner, and a riverboat shuffle on the Neckar. Also noteworthy is the science slam, the lecture by Salim Alafenisch in the Max-Weber-Haus, and the summer party. You can also get into the groove with a 120 min German class. See the full program and click on the individual days to find program details here.

HAI’s Mentoring Program

Mentors are current and former students, employees and researchers at Heidelberg University who have gained vital experience in many areas of life and want to share it with other members of the HAI network. Mentors support, motivate, and inspire those looking for advice and a solution to diverse problems. All registered HAI-members have access to the list of mentors on the online platform HAInet. There you will find individual profiles of the mentors as well as the option to contact one or more of them with your questions. You can find more information here.

Heidelberg Talks Online

Heidelberg Talks Online are offered on a regular basis on a wide range of topics from medicine and psychology to philosophy, literature, politics or history to natural sciences or environmental issues.

Join on June 24 online to learn about “Why YOU should care about public engagement with science: From science literacy to misinformation”. The speaker will be Dr. Bruce V. Lewenstein, Professor of Science Communication and University Ombuds at Cornell University. You can sign up here (look for Heidelberg Talks Online)

News from HACA

We look forward to welcoming HACA members to the HAUS 18^th National Meeting which will be held on Friday, July 24, from 10:30 - 12:30 at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA).

While the annual National Meeting is typically held in the United States, this year’s gathering will take place in Heidelberg in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Heidelberg Alumni International (HAI). The meeting offers HAUS and HACA members a valuable opportunity to reconnect with fellow alumni and engage with university representatives within the framework of the HAI anniversary festivities. Guests will enjoy a brunch buffet and a brief program featuring welcome remarks by Vice-Rector Prof. Dr Marc-Philippe Weller and HAUS President Kathleen Lance, as well as flash talks by three current HAUS scholarship recipients studying in Heidelberg.

Attendees will receive an email mid-June from HAI to register for this event and other activities during HAI30. Learn more here.

HACA Activities

On a crisp evening in January, members of Heidelberg Alumni Canada (HACA), DAAD alumni, and Studienstiftung scholarship holders gathered at the Duke of York in Toronto. The event provided a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with friends and strengthen ties across alumni networks. It was particularly rewarding to meet Heidelberg University alumni from a wide range of academic disciplines, highlighting the University’s vibrant international community.

Scholarships

We are proud to work together with alumni to support study and learning at Heidelberg University. The HAUS Scholarships are supported entirely by the HAUS community and demonstrate our continued commitment to providing the opportunity to experience Ruperto Carola. This summer several students will participate in the International Summer School of German Language and Culture and this winter term students will again embarked on their studies in Heidelberg.

Additional scholarships supported by fundraising efforts of the New York office:

The Amirana Scholarships provides financial aid to international students from low- and middle-income countries of the Global South.

The Athena Scholarship, also managed by HAI, supports doctoral candidates at the Faculty of Philosophy at Heidelberg University who are in temporary financial need.

News from the New York Office

The year began with a productive visit to Toronto, Canada, aimed at strengthening relationships with partner institutions, including the University of Toronto and York University. The trip also provided an opportunity to connect with alumni (HACA), collaborate with DAAD representatives, and participate in a German U15 university delegation visit. Pictured here is an event at the Munk School on German-Canadian Relations.

We participated in several in-person and virtual events in the spring promoting study and research in Heidelberg, from the European Career Fair in Boston with Baden-Württemberg International, to a virtual event with NYU for biodmedical researchers to our Germany Grad Fair in New York (picture) and events at various high schools as well as the international education expo Nafsa in Orlando.

A highlight was an expert workshop and public panel on Science for Society – Trust, Evidence, and Misinformation in Public Discourse in New York, co-organized with LMU Munich and funding support from DWIH New York. The event brought together scholars, journalists, science communicators, museums, media organizations, and public institutions to explore how scientific evidence can be communicated, interpreted, trusted, and challenged in today’s information environment.

The four liaison offices of Heidelberg University in New York, New Delhi, Kyoto, and Santiago de Chile have launched a joint annual workshop series focused on a strategic research theme. The inaugural workshop, “Normative Conflicts in Polarized Societies,” will take place on July 15–16, 2026, at Haus Buhl in Heidelberg in cooperation with the Jellinek Center for Ethics, bringing together scholars from all four regions and from Heidelberg. Future workshops will be hosted by the centers abroad.

Scholarships for Teachers of German

The International Summer School for German Language and Culture at Heidelberg University also offers a continuing education course for teachers of German who are not native speakers. In August, two teachers of German will participate in the course in Heidelberg thanks to our cooperation with the American Association of Teachers of German. We are grateful for the generous funding provided by Heidelberg University and the German-American Scholarship Association.

Max Kade Visiting Professorship

at Universität Heidelberg

We are grateful to the Max Kade Foundation for supporting a visiting professorship in Heidelberg for many years. This summer and fall 2026 Dr. Isaac Ariail Reed, Thomas C. Sorensen Professor of Political and Social Thought and Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia has been invited by Heidelberg University for a Max Kade Visiting Professorship for the two months of June and October 2026. Dr. Kathia Serrano-Velarde, Professor at Max-Weber-Institut for Sociology will host Dr. Reed at Heidelberg University.

Upcoming Events

June 10 - HAUS Study Scholarship Selection Meeting

June 11 – Heidelberg University Association Board of Directors Meeting

June 20 – German House of Soccer – Study in Germany Day event in New York

July 15-16 – Expert Workshop “Normative Conflicts in Polarized Societies: Experiences from Different Contexts” in Heidelberg

July 15 – Public Outreach Panel at Haus Buhl – Spaltet Moral die Gesellschaft? (Does Morality Divide Society?)

July 23-26 – HAI30 Anniversary

July 24 – HAUS 18^th National Meeting in Heidelberg

August 20 – German University Alumni Meetup in San Francisco

August 21-23 - GAIN Annual Postdoc Conference in San Francisco

October 16 – Career Booster German(y) at Goethe Insitute New York

October 22 – Virtual Germany Graduate Fair

View our events here.

Do you have something to share? Tell us! We know that our alumni are doing a lot of interesting things in the world. Please let us know if you have had a recent achievement, visit to Heidelberg, or other event that could be of interest to the HACA community, and we may choose to share your story on social media or in the next issue of HACA News.

Contact information updates The New York office staff is always updating alumni contact information. If you move, change your email address, or your phone number, please contact Melanie (mgrossmann@heidelberguniversity.org).

Heidelberg University Association

871 United Nations Plaza

New York, NY 10017

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