UNITE is on its way - and some more news

Brain City Berlin

It’s shortly after the #LNDW25 and just before the summer vacations, and lot happening in Brain City Berlin! Here are three exciting updates where our Brain City Ambassadors play a key role.

UNITE – full steam ahead

Let’s start with the most significant news. The Berlin-Brandenburg startup ecosystem UNITE is moving into implementation! As Katherina Reiche, Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy announced last week, Europe’s largest foundation center for science-based start-ups will be funded with ten million euros as one of ten excellence-oriented projects nationwide under the EXIST flagship competition “Startup Factories” by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK; now: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy). Together with previously secured private funding, UNITE will have a total of around 21 million euros available over the next five years. Additionally, approximately ten million euros in EU funds will be provided via the Senate Departments for Science, Health and Care, as well as for Economy, Energy and Enterprises. Via pre-seed funding the funds will be used to specifically support deep tech start-ups working on solutions in digitalization, biotechnology, energy, and sustainability.

More than 50 partners from the fields of science, business, politics and civil society in Berlin and Brandenburg have joined forces for UNITE. The consortium’s goal: to further develop the capital region into a leading international innovation ecosystem. The managing director of UNITE is Brain City Ambassador Laura Möller, who also heads the Artificial Intelligence Entrepreneurship Center (K.I.E.Z.) in Berlin. Another Brain City Ambassador is also part of UNITE’s executive board as “Science Innovation Officer”: Stefanie Molthagen-Schnöring, Vice President for Research, Transfer, and Science Communication at HTW Berlin.

Markus Krutzik – appointed as Professor of Integrated Quantum Sensing at HU Berlin

Brain City Ambassador Dr. Markus Krutzik also has reason to celebrate. As of July 1st, he has been appointed to the W3-S Professorship for Integrated Quantum Sensing at Humboldt University of Berlin (HU Berlin). Dr. Krutzik heads the Joint Lab Integrated Quantum Sensors (IQS) at the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH). The Joint Lab, operated jointly by FBH and HU Berlin, has been conducting top-level research for the past six years on atomic quantum systems with high societal and technological relevance—both on Earth and in space.

Markus Krutzik studied physics at TU Darmstadt and earned his doctorate at HU Berlin. He has conducted research at institutions including the University of California (UC Berkeley) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. He is also a co-founder of a quantum technology start-up and serves as a scientific advisor to the Quantum Labs Leap. In the Quantum Year 2025, his appointment is especially welcome news. Congratulations!

BHT Berlin opens “House of Robotics”

With a panel discussion on “AI and Robotics in Production,” the Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT Berlin) officially opened its new “House of Robotics” on Tuesday at Kurfürstenstraße. Representatives from politics, research, and Berlin-based companies gathered on-site to discuss how AI-based robotics can be strengthened in the capital’s industry. The event was hosted by the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises.

The House of Robotics is the new home of the “Humanoid Robotics” degree program, previously based at BHT’s Berlin-Wedding campus. For the summer semester 2025, the robotics labs moved into the BHT building at Kurfürstenstraße 141 in Tiergarten, which had previously housed only labs for the Optometry degree program and classrooms. The House of Robotics is structurally modeled after a humanoid robot: the lower level is the “Walking Lab,” where robots are taught to walk. In the middle is the “Manipulation Lab,” where, for example, soft robotic hands are trained. The upper floors are dedicated to the “Cognition Lab,” which focuses on behavioral aspects—robots learn to perceive their environment, make decisions, and adapt to different situations, including interactions with humans. Brain City Ambassador Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ivo Boblan, head of the Pneumatic Robotics and Soft Robotics research lab at BHT Berlin, also conducts research in the Humanoid Robotics program.

Humanoid Robotics (B.Eng.): BHT Berlin

Our Tip: “Robot Insights”

Every third Friday afternoon of the month, the NeuroRobotics research lab at BHT, led by Prof. Dr. Manfred Hild, invites science and robotics enthusiasts to tour the House of Robotics. The presentations are tailored to each visiting group. Admission is free!