The London School of Economics (LSE) Generate project is currently organizing The Better World Summit: Responsible AI for Europe’s Next Tech Leap together with the Google AI Center in Berlin.
The one-day summit sits at the intersection of responsible AI, European competitiveness, and founder-led innovation. As part of LSE’s Global AI Founder Programme, the event brings together LSE academics, Google leaders, leading alumni innovators, AI experts and public policy makers from Berlin and across Europe to address questions as:
• How can Europe harness its expertise to become a leader in the AI race? • How do we defend privacy, free expression, and democratic integrity in an AI-first world? • How can founders build responsibly while remaining globally competitive?
A few of the speakers include:
• Professor Youngjin Yoo (LSE) • Slav Petrov, VP Research at Google DeepMind • Hannah Leach, Partner at Antler • Clemens Rawert, Founder of Langfuse • Dame Julia Black, former interim president of LSE
With governments increasingly backing entrepreneurship and Europe possessing formidable strengths in ethics, regulation, research excellence, and public trust, the summit explores how the continent can position itself as the world leader in ethical AI, as the home of responsible innovation and business growth.
Dear members and friends of the Harvard Community in Berlin,
The Harvard Cub of Berlin is honored to invite you to a Leadership Dinner with Professor Lothar Wieler.
The lecture was originally scheduled for October 2025, and we are very pleased to be able to welcome Professor Wieler to our club this April.
About the lecture:
Decision making and giving recommendations both to political leaders as well as to health professionals during an acute crises like COVID-19 can be a challenging task. In my talk I will outline the legal foundation given to the Robert Koch-Institute as a governmental agency deeply based on scientific excellence and evidence and the chances, barriers and obstacles which influenced political decisions during that crises. One major conclusion is that democracy will suffer if such governmental institutions are not scientifically excellent, well ressourced and recognized as trusted institutions. In addition, ministerial civil servants need to be both competent and resilient, giving them the strength to resist political despotism. Otherwise, single political decision makers will be able to deliberately decide by neglecting facts as well as scientific evidence. Without competent strong and legally soundly founded institutions, it will be hard to keep checks and balances.
About Professor Wieler:
Lothar H. Wieler is Coordinator of the Digital Health Cluster, Chair Digital Global Public Health, Hasso-Plattner-Institute, University Potsdam, and Adjunct Professor at the Hasso-Plattner-Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York.
As a leader in Global Public Health, among others he advised the German government on combating the COVID-19 pandemic as president of the Robert Koch-Institute. He has 40 years experience in infectious disease research, teaching and transfer, and nearly 30 years in leadership positions both in the academic and the public sector. A veterinarian by training, he is microbiologist and global public health expert. His research is on pandemics and infectious diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans, known as zoonoses. In his work, initially he concentrated on infections involving antibiotic multi-resistant bacteria (AMR) and investigated transmission mechanisms and microevolution, as well as disease-causing factors and disease control strategies. Focusing his research on the molecular pathogenesis, genomic surveillance and evolution of infectious agents, he extended his work on public and global health, disease prevention and containment of pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential.
Wieler´s goal is to reduce health inequalities by promoting precision public health, at local, national and international levels. Before taking the Chair of Digital Global Public Health at the Hasso-Plattner-Institute at the University of Potsdam in 2023, he has served as president of Germany´s National Public-Health-Institute – the Robert Koch-Institute – for 8 years. Before then, he has been full-professor at the Freie University Berlin from 1998 to 2015. He is member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Senator of Leopoldina´s section Global Health, Member of the Council of Virchow Foundation, Co-Director of the Digital Health Partnership with Mount Sinai Hospital, and has been member and chair of various national and international commissions and advisory boards, among member others the Strategic and Technical Advisory Board of Infectious Hazards (STAG-IH), WHO, the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (WHO, UNEP, FAO, WHOA), the Lancet Commission on 21st Century Global Health Threats, or chair of the International Health Regulations Review Committee (IHR-RC), WHO.
We look forward to seeing you at our Harvard Leadership Dinner.
When?: Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at 6:30 pm
Where?: Restaurant Il Punto, Lasagneria
Neustädtische Kirchstraße 6, 10117 Berlin
Dresscode: Smart Casual
Tickets:
Members & partners: 45 € p.p.
Non-Members: 55 € p.p.
Welcome drinks and two course menu are included.
Drinks with the meal will be charged separately.
30 tickets are available for this event.
Please register via the following link: registration link until April 15, 2026.
Payment options:
Bank transfer: Please transfer the ticket to our bank account:
Artist Gwendolyn Kerber (Yale MFA ’84) invites the Ivy Circle to the finissage of her art exhibit “Ice Melts To Water,” taking place Sunday, March 22 from 2pm-5pm at the HELL gallery at Spittastr. 2, 10317 Berlin. The gallery is owned and run by another Yale School of Art graduate, Alexis Knowlton. There will be a musical performance by the British improvising trio “arc:3” at 3pm. Simple refreshments will be served.
Kerber will provide a tour of her works and be available for any questions.
From gallery owner Alexis Knowlton: In Gwendolyn Kerber’s exhibition, a purple painting, a fragile structure of sticks, and erased drawings of water ripples are resolved at various states of finish. The works depend on each other as much as on natural observation for their creation. The touch of the painter emerges in details that shimmer between information and idiosyncrasy.
The intention of Kerber´s work across several years has been to convey the experience of standing in a clear shallow lake, sunlight creating patterns on the sandy bottom. Water plants moving slowly, catching light. Her solo exhibition at HELL, to which you are invited, shifts attention to the work´s conceptual aspects.
Kerber is a painter who has developed a skill-vocabulary rather than a style or genre. Her working process moves between careful observations of visual phenomena, both on-site and in the studio, and welcoming the unexpected: the physical unruliness of such earnest attempts.
Through shifting textures, resonance and gesture, the music will respond to Kerber’s visual language of color, light and form, while suggesting the emotional and narrative associations the images evoke.
We look forward to welcoming everyone to the finissage of the exhibit on March 22!
The Harvard Club of Berlin invites the Ivy Circle to another event as part of their “Insight Industrial Berlin” to take place Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 6:30pm at the Berlin offices of Idealo. The full invite from the Harvard Club is below.
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The Harvard Club of Berlin is pleased to invite you to another event of our “Insight Industrial Berlin” series on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 6:30 pm.
We are delighted that Harvard alumnus Jovan Protić has invited us to the premises of idealo in the new Axel Springer building for his lecture “How artificial intelligence will change our lives and our economy: Lessons from Silicon Valley.”
About the Speaker:
Jovan Protić is Managing Director at idealo, Europe’s leading price comparison platform. He brings nearly two decades of experience in media and digital leadership, having played a central role in driving the digital transformation of media companies across Europe. Most recently Jovan was representing the Axel Springer group in Silicon Valley working on shaping AS AI future.
He began his career in 2005 at Ringier Axel Springer in Serbia, joined the leadership team of Ringier Axel Springer Media AG in 2016 as a COO – overlooking digital media transformation in nine CEE markets. Parallel to this role, since 2018 he held senior roles at Ringier Axel Springer Poland, most recently serving as Vice President of the Management Board from 2023. Throughout his career, he has launched more than 20 digital media and e-commerce products and established market-leading news portals in nine countries.
About the Lecture:
In his session, Jovan Protić examines how artificial intelligence will reshape the way we live, work, and do business. Drawing on six months spent in Silicon Valley studying leading media and e-commerce innovators, he shares the most influential ideas, technologies, and business models emerging from the global tech epicenter.
Jovan connects these insights with his hands-on leadership experience in European digital media and e-commerce, previously at Ringier Axel Springer and now at idealo. He highlights how AI-driven concepts can be translated into practical strategies, showing that the future of innovation is shaped not only in Silicon Valley, but also in the everyday decisions and ecosystems closer to home.
Tickets:
Members: 15 € p.p.
Non-members: 20 € p.p.
Attendance is limited to 35 guests.
Registration until January 8, 2026:
Please register via the following link: Registration
Payment options:
Bank transfer: Please transfer the ticket to our bank account:
Where: Idealo Internet GmbH, Zimmerstrasse 50, 10888 Berlin
The Harvard Club Berlin sees itself as a politically neutral institution. With its selection of speakers and venues, the HCB does not align itself with any political positions but rather wants to create space for open and respectful discussion.
The Harvard Club of Berlin invites us to an evening discussion with renown author Jamaica Kincaid on November 5 at 6:30pm at Restaurant Luther & Wegner, Charlottenstr. 56 10117 Berlin.
P.S. Stammtisch, Tuesday, Nov 4 at Fredericks in Potsdammer Platz.
Dear members and friends of the Harvard Community in Berlin,
The Harvard Cub of Berlin is honored to invite you to a Leadership Dinner with Jamaica Kincaid.
Jamaica Kincaid will begin with a short reading followed by a conversation on her experiences as a writer and professor at Harvard University as well as her impressions so far as an American Academy Fellow in Germany.
The evening will be moderated by Clara Péron, the club’s vice president.
About Jamica Kincaid:
Jamaica Kincaid is a writer and Professor Emerita of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. She holds honorary degrees from Amherst College, Tufts University, Middlebury College, and the University of the West Indies, among others. Celebrated for her evocative reflections on family, memory, gender, colonialism, her native Antigua, and gardening, Kincaid is the author of numerous award-winning and widely translated essays, short stories, and novels, including At the Bottom of the River (1983), Annie John (1985), Lucy (1990), A Small Place (1988), The Autobiography of My Mother (1996), My Brother (1997), Mr. Potter (2002), Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalayas (2005), See Now Then (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013), and most recently An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children (with Kara Walker; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024). Her “Talk of the Town” columns for The New Yorker appeared in Talk Stories (2001). She is the winner of the 2022 Paris Review Hadada Prize for Lifetime Achievement, 2017 Dan David Prize, a 2014 American Book Award and 2000 Prix Femina Étranger, among many other awards. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.
We look forward to seeing you at our Leadership Dinner.
When?: Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at 6:30 pm
Where?: Restaurant Luther & Wegner
Charlottenstraße 56, 10117 Berlin
Dresscode: Smart Casual
Tickets:
Members & partners: 45 € p.p.
Non-Members: 55 € p.p.
Welcome drinks and two course menu are included.
Drinks with the meal will be charged separately.
30 tickets are available for this event.
Please register via the following link: Registration until October 29, 2025.
Payment options:
Bank transfer: Please transfer the ticket to our bank account:
Something of a last minute invite courtesy of Bill Woodward – an evening with journalist Elizabeth Kolbert taking place Monday, September 22 at 7pm at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
Please see the invite below for full information.
Cheers!
Carl Kruse Ivy Circle
You are warmly invited to join us for the conversation
Our Climate Past and Future: An Evening with Elizabeth Kolbert, Journalist and Pulitzer Prize Laureate
Monday, September 22, 2025 7:00 pm CET/GMT+1 Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities Jägerstr. 22-23, 10117 Berlin
Climate change continues to reshape both domestic and global policy and politics on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite a shared reality in how the world is changing around us, Europe and the United States under President Trump are approaching the crisis in dramatically different ways. In conversation with Joshua Yaffa Bard College Berlin’s writer-in-residence, prominent journalist and Pulitzer Prize laureate, Elizabeth Kolbert, will share stories, and prognoses from the frontlines of a changing climate. Kolbert will speak to the way humans are changing the world around them, and how those changes reflect back on humanity. She will also address the current state of climate politics and policy in the U.S. and Europe—a gap in approach and even basic understanding that is quickly widening to a gulf. Is it possible to speak of a shared transatlantic climate policy, or even climate understanding? And can technology save us if politics doesn’t?
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
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
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!
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!
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.
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)