All posts by Carl Kruse

Past Events Berlin

BBA Art Gallery – 10th Anniversary Celebration

by Carl Kruse

We have an invitation from our friends at the BBA Art Gallery to join in their 10th anniversary celebrations, which take place from May 22 through June 1 at the Kuhlhaus  in Berlin.

Carl Kruse and several friends of the Ivy Circle will join the event on the opening night, May 22 at 7pm.  Here is the complete information from BBA Art Gallery.  Use discount code IVYCIRCLE for a 10% discount.

Join us at Kühlhaus Berlin from 22 May to 1 June for our major upcoming Prizes exhibition.

Spanning three floors, the exhibition will showcase works by over 130 international and local artists and photographers. Highlights include the 2025 BBA Artist Prize, Photography Prize, Made in Berlin Award, One Shot Award, and a curated selection of standout pieces from the past decade.

Start celebrating with the Opening Reception on Thursday 22 May from 19:00. Tickets are available on our website. 

KEY EVENTS:

OPENING
Thursday 22 May from 19:00

ARTIST TALKS
Friday 23 May at 14:00, 16:00, 18:00

AWARDS CEREMONY
Saturday 24 May from 18:00

LOCATION
Kühlhaus Berlin, Luckenwalder Str 3, 10963 Berlin

🖼️ Exhibition on 22.05 until 01.06 

🕐 Daily open hours 13:00 – 20:00, Tuesday – Sunday.

Past Events Berlin

Wharton Summit 2025



The Wharton School invites the Ivy Circle to its Wharton Summit 2025. Below is the information:


The Wharton Summit 2025 will take place in Berlin – and we couldn’t be more excited!

Seats for the exclusive Summit Dinner are selling out fast, so if you haven’t registered yet, we encourage you to secure your spot today. We are proud to present an outstanding program featuring a diverse lineup of high-caliber speakers and thought leaders who will share their perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities shaping Europe’s economic future.Please see the full agenda below:
We’ve curated an inspiring day with a broad view of today’s economic landscape – from entrepreneural insights, economic development, changes in leadership, cutting-edge innovation and green technology to AI and security. This intimate gathering of professionals from various business schools and industries promises: Fresh perspectives from thought leaders High-quality networking across sectors Inspiring discussions in a unique setting Lasting connections in a vibrant community
Sign up now
This event is open to all who are curious, inspired, and ready to engage – not only Wharton Alumni. Here’s what to expect:
Thursday, May 22 at 7:00 PM
We’ll kick things off with an exclusive dinner at Restaurant Austernbank, (Behrenstraße 42, 10117 Berlin)  featuring a special guest speaker.
Friday, May 23 at 8:30 AM
The Summit will be hosted at Zalando SE Headquarters (Hedwig-Wachenheim-Straße 7, 10243 Berlin) and will conclude with a rooftop reception offering stunning views of Berlin (weather permitting).
Saturday, May 24 at 10:00 AM
For those spending the weekend in Berlin, we’re offering an optional cultural highlight: a private tour of the renowned Hoffmann Collection (Sophienstraße 21, Entrance C, 10178 Berlin). To join, please contact Isabel Matz (isabelmatz.wcga@gmail.com) directly.
We can’t wait to welcome you to Berlin for this exciting event. Should you have any questions or need assistance with your registration, feel free to reach out. Warmest regards,  

The Summit-Team Martin Bell  |  Fana Gibson  |  Delfina Mattern  |  Isabel Matz  |  Sebastian Seehusen

Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin
Past Events Berlin

Introductory Tango With The Ivy Circle

by Carl Kruse

We’re excited to invite you to a special evening — a private Argentine tango introduction workshop followed by networking over wine and the chance to experience Berlin’s famous Milonga. All exclusive and private for the Ivy Circle.

No experience? No problem! Most of us have never been introduced to tango and this evening we’ll be guided by Berlin’s top tango teachers at Nou Tango Berlin, the city’s most prestigious tango school.

We start completely from zero:

  • Learn tango basics, the unique etiquette, and how to walk comfortably
  • Get a glimpse into the rich, magical world of Argentine tango.
  • No partner or special shoes needed — just bring yourself!

Program:
🕓 4:30 PM – Private tango class exclusively for the Ivy Circle.
🕕 6:00 PM – Wine & networking in our private mirror room at the venue.
🕢 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM – Join or watch Berlin’s famous Milonga (the lively social dance event open to the wider tango community)

You can either join the dancing and try your new skills or simply relax with a glass of wine and watch beautiful tango dancers in action.

Event Details:
Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025
Location: Nou Mitte (Chausseestraße 102, 10115 Berlin). (U-Naturkundemuseum).
Cost: 20€ (includes the workshop + one glass of wine)

Milonga? A milonga is a traditional tango gathering — a warm, welcoming evening full of music, dancing, and community.

Fun fact: Berlin has the largest and most vibrant tango community in the world outside Argentina!

RSVP:

Please RSVP to Carl Kruse at carl@alumni.princeton.edu before Saturday 03 May if possible.

+1s are warmly welcome! Bring a friend, partner, or fellow alumni — the more the merrier.

Don’t miss this opportunity to discover the magic of tango, make new friends, and enjoy a beautiful evening with the Ivy Circle.

We look forward to dancing and toasting with you!

Cheers!
Carl Kruse

P.S. May thanks to LSE Alum Avitosh Sawhney for the original idea and organizing of the event.

Current Events Berlin

Harvard Club Event in Berlin: Fireside Chat with Dr. Gregor Schmitz

The Harvard Club of Berlin invites members of the Ivy Circleto the Fireside Chat – “Turning Point. In the World. In the United States? In Germany ?” with Dr. Gregor Peter Schmitz scheduled for Wednesday, 28 May 28, at 18:30 at the Marriott Hotel on Potsdamer Platz. in Berlin.

About Dr. Gregor Peter Schmitz:

Gregor Peter Schmitz, born in 1975, is Chairman of the editor-in-chiefs of STERN, GEO and Capital. He is also responsible for the joint digital offering Stern +. A lawyer and political scientist with degrees from Cambridge and Harvard began his professional career as head of the Brussels office of the Bertelsmann Foundation. He spent six years as SPIEGEL’s USA correspondent in Washington before he took over as European correspondent in Brussels. After heading the capital city office of “WirtschaftsWoche” in Berlin, Schmitz spent four years as editor-in-chief of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”, one of the highest-circulation and most-cited German daily newspapers.

He has received numerous awards for his journalistic work, including the Henri Nannen Prize, the Theodor Wolff Prize, the Arthur F. Burns Prize and several times as “Editor-in-Chief of the Year”. His first book, “Wetten auf Europa: Gespräche mit George Soros” published by Random House, was a SPIEGEL bestseller and was translated into numerous languages. Schmitz is a regular guest on national and international TV and radio programs, such as Markus Lanz, Anne Will, Maischberger, the Presseclub, Deutschlandfunk and the BBC. At the end of 2022, after his first year as the new editor-in-chief at STERN he has been awarded by both a 100-member jury of the “Medium Magazin” as well as by the trade magazine Kress as “Editor-in-Chief of the Year”.

We are very much looking forward to seeing you at our Fireside Chat!

Tickets: Members & partners: 25 € p.p.

Non-Members: 35 € p.p.

Soft drinks and finger food are included.

Registration here: Registration Link

Payment options:

  1. Transfer: Please transfer the ticket to the account: 

Harvard University Alumni Club of Berlin e.V.

IBAN: DE33 1007 0848 0036 7532 00

BIC: DEUTDEDB110

Reference: your name & Gregor Schmitz

  1. Paypal: frohn@pwwl.de  family and friends

Reference: your name & Gregor Schmitz

This promises to be a great event.

Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin

Current Events Berlin

Ivy Circle Berlin Stammtisch

by Carl Kruse

The Ivy Circle Berlin Stammtisch takes place every first Tuesday of the month.

Its current location is at the lobby bar of the TELEGRAPHENAMT HOTEL, located at Monbijoustr. 11 in central Berlin.   We meet there from 6pm-9pm with the next Stammtisch slated for June 3, 2025.

 Our Stammtischs have been beautiful gatherings.

Cash bar and complimentary wine. while it lasts.

The TELEGRAPHENAMT dates from 1910 and was formerly Berlin’s main telegraph center and widely considered Germany’s most elaborate postal building.  It has been beautifully repurposed as a hotel.

Come meet old and new friends alike.

While the last three Stammtischs have taken place at the Telegraphenamt, we expect to rotate the Stammtisch location through various locations in Berlin. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, see you at the TELEGRAPHENAMT on Tuesday!

Cheers,
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin

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Former events include Champagne and Art with Jade Cassidy, and the Boros Bunker Sammlung Tour.

Past Events Berlin

London School of Economics Invite To GENERATE Event

By Carl Kruse

Our friends at the London School of Economics (LSE) invite the Ivy Circle to join in the launch of the LSE Generate chapter in Berlin and a discussion of European tech resilience.  This launch is LSE’s third Generate chapter in Europe, with the goal of bringing together the broader community of socially-minded and entrepreneurial alumni in Berlin — connecting innovators from LSE and beyond — and contributing to Europe’s evolving startup ecosystem.

  • When: Wednesday, 21st May, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. The panel will kick off shortly at 7 pm and run for about 1 hour, followed by some informal networking.
  • Where: Clubhouse Berlin on Torstraße 85 close by Rosenthaler Platz.
  • Who: Saad Saeed, co-founder of Flink and now building Layla, a leading AI-powered travel platform; André Wilkens, one of the founding members of the European Council on Foreign Relations and LSE alum; Melina Sanchez Montanes, climate investor, Principal at AENU, and Harvard and Dartmouth alum. The discussion will be moderated by Marcela Mogilska, founder of Radia, the inclusive tech network.
  • What: The event marks LSE Generate’s third chapter in Europe with a panel on European tech resilience.

This promises to be a great event and members of the Ivy Circle can sign up here: https://lu.ma/k2xwoq74

Hope to see everyone there!

Carl Kruse
Other current events include the Theater Reading Discussion Group.

Past Events Berlin

Champagne and Art Exhibition With Jade Cassidy in Berlin


The Ivy Circle Berlin is happy to invite all to an art exhibit of artist Jade Cassidy taking place on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 from 6-9 p.m. at the Quantum Gallery on Kurfürstendamm 210 in West Berlin.

The event will feature complimentary champagne from the Lombard champagne company, who will be represented by champagne ambassador Fanny Thiel, and a complimentary open wine bar from 6-7pm.  A full cash bar goes on all night.

Originally from South Africa, Jade Cassidy is an emerging artist who resides in Berlin.  Her work explores themes of renewal and resilience, and the exhibition invites viewers to reflect through her paintings and sculptures on cycles of destruction and revival, often using the South African Protea flower for inspiration.

The event is free and open to all friends of the Ivy Circle and while an RSVP is not mandatory, it would be good to have a head count for the champagne and the bar.

For any questions (and to RSVP) contact Carl Kruse at carl@alumni.princeton.edu

Cheers and to a great gathering on the 12th in Berlin!

Carl Kruse
The Ivy Circle’s last event was a tour of the Boros Bunker in Berlin.

Past Events Berlin

Boros Art Bunker Tour in Berlin

Dear Alumni Leaders and Friends,

The Cambridge Society invites the Ivy Circle for a private tour of the iconoclastic Boros Bunker art collection in Berlin.

  • Date & Time: Tuesday, 19/11/24, 5:00-6:30 pm
  • Place: Boros Foundation, Reinhardtstraße 20, 10117 Berlin
  • URL: https://www.boros-foundation.de 
  • Cost: 35€

Spread over 3,000 sq m of a converted air-raid bunker, this is the fourth exhibition featuring works from the private collection of Karen and Christian Boros, showcasing international artists from 1990 to the present. The couple purchased the bunker, originally designed by Albert Speer to both house their contemporary art and to make it accessible to the public.  The redesign of the bunker was awarded the Beton Architectural Prize in 2008.

During the 1.5-hr tour in English, an art mediator from the Boros team will tell us about the exhibited works, the history of the building, and its architectural background. Christian Boros has often said he only buys art that he does not understand, so the tour will be interesting to say the least.

The event is to be followed by an optional dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Sign up here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/germancambridgesocietyev/1461627

For any questions please reach out to me as soon as possible.

Cheers!

Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin

Past Events Berlin

Oxford Singles Bouldering Event

Dear Alumni Leaders and Friends,

The Oxford University Society (OUS) – Berlin singles group invites the Ivy Circle to a mixer at the Berta Block bouldering facility on Saturday, October 26 between 7:00-9:00pm. 

The idea is to meet in a fun, relaxed environment.  No prior bouldering experience is necessary.

Berta Block is located at Mühlenstr 62 in Pankow (Berlin).

If interested please contact Aravindh at +49 1525 6001644.

Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin
Berlin Chair, Princeton Alumni Association of Germany

Past Events Berlin

Art Brunch on October 5 at the Kauppila Art Studio in Berlin

by Carl Kruse

The Ivy Circle Berlin would like to invite all to its second Art Brunch at the studio of Helena Kauppila, on Saturday, October 5, 2024, starting at 11:45 am on the fourth floor of Ackerstrasse 81, 13355 Berlin

There will be a welcome and brief introduction by the artist at 12:15 am. 

A mathematician turned painter, Helena is fascinated by complexity and emerging systems. While her colorful paintings may appear random and disjointed, there is a systems thinking behind them, often anchored in mathematics. Her work touches on the structure of DNA, mathematical theories, and the human connection to nature and the world around us..

Kauppila resides in Berlin. She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Columbia University and is the recipient of the Reginald Marsh and Felicia Meyer Marsh scholarship at the Art Students League of New York. 

Light brunch food and drinks will be served. Featuring “Elixir of Life” DNA Canapes and a color-changing welcome drink.  RSVP helpful (but not required).

At 1 pm other ateliers in the building open as well, so there will be further opportunity to explore other art and meet other artists.

For any questions please contact Helena directly at helena@helenakauppila.com.

I look forward to seeing everyone on October 5!

Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin
Also find Carl Kruse at the Princeton Alumni Association of Germany