Summer HACA Newsletter 2025 🌿Heidelberg University Association


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Summer HACA News 2025

Welcome to the HACA Newsletter!

It’s summertime! We are sending you our first HACA Newsletter in a long time. With this newsletter for our alumni in Canada, you are receiving updates from Universität Heidelberg and the New York based liaison office. Help us make the next issue in the fall even better so that we can include updates from alumni activities in Canada. We recognize HACA's vibrant history and are eager to match that level of engagement by revitalizing existing chapters and establishing new ones.

Looking ahead, we are especially excited to invite you to virtual online talks about current topics and to our alumni weekend, taking place this year in early October in the city of Chicago. Our HAUS (Heidelberg Alumni U.S.) National Meeting has traditionally welcomed HACA Members and we hope that you can join us in the fall.

Have a great summer!

Best wishes from New York City,

Katja and Melanie

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

Heidelberg University Association

News from Universität Heidelberg

Successful With Three Applications for Clusters of Excellence

Heidelberg University has been successful with three applications in the Cluster of Excellence funding line. The existing cluster 3DMM2O (3D Matter Made to Order) will receive further funding and with SynthImmune (Engineering Immune Function with Synthetic Biology) and GreenRobust (Understanding Robustness in Plants from Molecules to Ecosystems) two new initiatives have also been selected for a seven-year funding period. Read more here.

New Master Program in 2025/26: Mathematics of Machine Learning and Data Science

Laying the mathematical and methodological foundations to enable future generations of mathematicians to continue developing machine learning and scientific data analysis – that is the purpose of a new research-oriented master program at Heidelberg University. The program is taught in English and is starting in the 2025/2026 winter semester. Read more here.

Ruperto Carola Lecture Series

The Ruperto Carola Lecture Series “1945: Epochal Threshold and Experiential Space”, with which Heidelberg University remembers the end of the war in Europe 80 years ago, i.e. the historical turning point on 8 May 1945, is taking place this summer semester. You can learn more and listen to the recordings on here. (in German)

Newsroom

Stay up to date via the Heidelberg University Newsroom

Canadian Political Scientist Conducts Research at Universität Heidelberg

Supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Canadian political scientist Prof. Dr. Daniel Béland from McGill University is a visiting scholar at Heidelberg University, where he will be conducting research at the Institute for Political Science in three stages from 2025-27.

Learn more here.

Photo credit: Daniel Béland | © McGill University

News from Heidelberg Alumni International (HAI)

Save the Date for 30 Years of HAI

July 24-26, 2026 in Heidelberg

Celebrate 30 years of HAI with us—save the date and come to Heidelberg for HACA and HAUS reunions on the beautiful Neckar River.

HAI’s Mentoring Program

The mentoring program has gained two new mentors from the United States: Roland Fürst in New York, NY and Berk Aykut in Durham, NC. 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.

Looking for mentors in Canada: If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please let us know.

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.

Recently Dr. Pamela Karimi, Associate Professor of History of Art and Architecture at Cornell University offered insights into Woman, Art, Freedom: Artists and Street Politics in Iran. You can find future talks here.

Many interesting news about HAI activities, new mentors, and the university can be found on the current topics page.

News from the New York Office

We enjoyed a visit from Heidelberg in April: Rektorin Prof. Dr. Frauke Melchior.

During her visit to New York, Frauke Melchior met with the HUA team and other partners in the German House, such as the Consul General Till Knorn to discuss the current challenges and opportunities in transatlantic cooperation. Another highlight was a Meet and Greet with HAUS members and friends in the restaurant on the 23rd floor of the German House. In her speech, the Rector emphasized the important role of alumni for Heidelberg University and provided information on current developments at the university.

We also invited research alumni, postdocs, and other interested parties to a breakfast roundtable on current developments in the higher education landscape at the American Council on Germany (ACG) in Midtown Manhattan. This roundtable discussion with the Rector was met with great interest and was moderated by alumnus Dr. Steven Sokol, President of the ACG.

We also enjoyed a visit by Prorektor Prof. Dr. Marc-Philippe Weller and Heidelberg law students at the occasion of their Premoot at Fordham University earlier this year.

Join us at the HAUS 17th National Meeting in Chicago from October 3-5 as we reconnect with old friends, welcome new faces, and celebrate our shared ties with Uni Heidelberg. The weekend will feature inspiring talks, engaging discussions, a Chicago River Architecture tour, and plenty of opportunities for networking in one of America’s most vibrant cities. We look forward to welcoming HACA members!

Take a look at our exciting program, choose the events you would like to participate in, and book your hotel.

Learn more and Register here

HACA Alumni News

We are looking for alumni interested in playing an active role and helping us to create or revitalize HACA chapters. If you have ideas for HACA, please let us know.

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 Newsletter.

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 at mgrossmann@heidelberguniversity.org.

Our HACA website can be found here.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, August 14 - Falling Walls Lab | Toronto

Aug. 29-31 - GAIN Annual Conference for Postdocs in the US and Canada | Boston

Monday, September 8 – DWIH Future Forum | Boston

September/October (date tbd) – Virtual HAUS & HACA Talk: "Are We on Track? How Countries are Progressing Toward Global Goals in Reading and Math" with Professor David Kaplan, PhD, University of Wisconsin – Madison | online

October 3-5 – HAUS 17th National Meeting | Chicago

Friday, October 17 – Career Booster at Goethe-Institut | New York

Friday, October 24 – Virtual Germany Graduate Fair | online

View our events here.

Falling Walls Lab is Coming to Toronto!

August 14, 2025, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

East Common Room of Hart House, University of Toronto
Organizer(s): Research and Health Science Education, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Department of Cell & Systems Biology, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto DWIH New York Life Sciences Ontario

Which wall will your research break? Pitch your innovative idea in just three minutes, showcasing a breakthrough that positively impacts science and society. Falling Walls Lab Toronto is proudly supported by DWIH New York.

Apply by July 24 and/or attend the event on August 14, 2025.

More information here

DAAD Information Centre in Toronto

Heidelberg University Association, located in the German House just across the United Nations in Midtown New York City, cooperates closely with the the DAAD North America and the Information Centre in Toronto. The DAAD Information Centre Toronto is dedicated to serving the needs of students and faculty in Canada. It promotes study and research in Germany, advises local students on funding opportunities, and builds ties between German and Canadian universities. You can find their contact information here.

Follow Us on Social Media!

Heidelberg University Association and HACA have a presence on social media, keeping alumni, partners, and friends updated and connected. Join the 900+ members on Facebook and Instagram by following @huaheidelberg on Instagram or on Facebook (@Heidelberg Uni Association) (accounts required to interact).

We also have an alumni social media group: You can join the the 50+ HACA members in Canada on Facebook. Stay connected—our social media channels are a great way to keep the conversation going!

Join our Facebook HACA Group

Heidelberg University Association

871 United Nations Plaza

New York, NY 10017

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