Tag Archives: Ivy Circle

Current Events Berlin

Harvard Club Of Berlin Invite To Leadership Dinner With Prof Lothar Wieler – April 22

by Carl Kruse

The Harvard Club of Berlin invites the Ivy Circle Berlin to a leadership dinner with Professor Lothar Wieler at 6:30pm on April 22.

Info below.

Cheers!

Carl Kruse
Director, Ivy Circle Berlin
Carl Kruse – Berlin Chair, Princeton Alumni Association of Germany

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:

  1. Bank transfer: Please transfer the ticket to our bank account:

Harvard University Alumni Club of Berlin e.V.

IBAN: DE33 1007 0848 0036 7532 00

BIC: DEUTDEDB110

Reference: your name & HLD Wieler

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

Reference: your name & HLD Wieler

Harvard University Alumni Club of Berlin e.V.
c/o Pusch Wahlig Workplace Law
Berliner Freiheit 2
10785 Berlin

Tel.: +49 (0)30 20629530
Fax: +49 (0)30 206295399

Past Events

Finissage + Concert With Artist Gwen Kerber


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.

More on Gwendolyn Kerher: Gwendolynkerber.com.
More on Gallery HELL: http://galeriehell.com/

arc:3 Trio are:
Jessica Thomas
Violinist working across baroque repertoire, historically informed performance, and modern projects

Katya Sourikova
Pianist and composer working across modern jazz, art-pop, film, interdisciplinary events and gallery performances

Michael Avery
Bassist and producer working between art-pop and jazz

Performing in close proximity to the paintings, arc:3 will create spontaneous sonic reflections of several works from the exhibition.

Carl Kruse |

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!

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

Past Events Berlin

January 15, 2026 – An Evening of Art, Cigars and Long Drinks

The Ivy Circle cordially invites you to a special evening at the Auto & Art Gallery called ART | CIGARS & LONG DRINKS to take place Thursday, January 15, 2026 from 6:00 PM at the Auto & Art Gallery, Nachtalbenweg 61, 13088 Berlin.

The event will feature an art exhibit from artist Michael Dynne Mieth, complimentary long drinks, and cigars all taking place amid the unique space of Auto and Art Gallery.

The evening’s host is Mr. Jürgen Form, the gallery owner, who is a Berlin-based entrepreneur and art collector.  The gallery space functions as both a showroom for classic cars (oldtimers) and an exhibition space for contemporary art.

Over the years, the gallery has hosted numerous exhibitions featuring international and German artists, such as Wilfried Fitzenreiter and Hans Scheib.

The space includes a café-lounge and is often used for events that bring together the business community and the diplomatic corps.

Jürgen Form also serves as the President of the Association of Economic Consuls in Berlin-Brandenburg (Vereinigung der Wirtschaftskonsuln in Berlin-Brandenburg e.V., or VWK), a professional network that fosters relationships between the diplomatic corps, economic representatives, and political leaders in the capital region.  Several members of the Berlin diplomatic corps will be in attendance.

Artist Michael Dyne Mieth is a painter, sculptor and multimedia artist living in Berlin, whose art is exhibited internationally and always attracts attention due to his visionary motives. Some of his work includes his massive “G18” in which he revisits and reimagines Picasso’s Guernica, which has forever inscribed itself in art history as an appeal for peace. G18 was exhibited along with Pablo Picasso’s original Guernica at the Imperial Hofburg Museum in Innsbruck during the anti-war exhibition GUERNICA – “Icon of Peace.

Please RSVP to Carl Kruse at carl@alumni.princeton.edu so that we have an idea of the crowd for drinks and such.

I look forward to seeing you on January 15th for what should be a beautiful evening.

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

Past Events Berlin

January 14, 2026 – Harvard Club Invite for Ivy Circle

by Carl Kruse

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.

==============================

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.”

Carl Kruse Tech Blog - Invitation to Harvard event in Berlin

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:

  1. Bank transfer: Please transfer the ticket to our bank account:

Harvard University Alumni Club of Berlin e.V.

IBAN: DE33 1007 0848 0036 7532 00

BIC: DEUTDEDB110

Reference: your name & Industrial Berlin

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

Reference: your name & Industrial Berlin

When: Wednesday, January 14,  2026 at 6:30 pm

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.

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Past Events Berlin

Harvard Club Invite: Dinner with Author Jamaica Kincaid


Hello all!

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.

The invite is below.

Cheers!  

Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle and Berlin Chair, Princeton Alumni Association in Germany

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:

  1. Bank transfer: Please transfer the ticket to our bank account:

Harvard University Alumni Club of Berlin e.V.

IBAN: DE33 1007 0848 0036 7532 00

BIC: DEUTDEDB110

Reference: your name & HLD Kincaid

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

Reference: your name & HLD Kincaid

Past Events Berlin

Till Richter Museum hosts artist Maria Nitulescu

by Carl Kruse

Friend of the Ivy Circle, artist Maria Nitulescu, invites everyone to her solo exhibition: “At the Crossroads of Memory” taking place at the Till Richter Museum, Schloss Buggenhagen, Buggenhagen (near Usedom), Germany.

The exhibition goes until 31 August 2025.

Museum website: https://tillrichtermuseum.org/

Google Maps Location: https://g.co/kgs/NNda6wJ

Spanning several rooms, the exhibition explores the connection between scent, memory, and material.

Central to the installation is the scent of hay from Romania, triggering involuntary memories that evoke both personal and collective histories.

The works draw on the artist’s own experiences, the particular smell of Transylvanian hay (shaped by its rich variety of plants), and the traditions of her native Romania. Using scent, fabric from her maternal grandmother’s dowry, plaster, and glass, she creates an immersive environment that invites visitors to experience memory as a sensory journey.

Past Events Berlin

The Miettinen Collection Hosts Artist Helena Kauppila


By Carl Kruse

Ivy Circle member Helena Kauppila who we have done several events with in the past (see her well-received brunch here) invites the Ivy Circle and friends to her continuing exhibition at the Miettinen Collection.

Here is the invite from Helena herself:

“I am honored that my recent work Early Life (2025) will be included in the exhibition A Little Madness in the Spring, an exhibition in collaboration with Sotheby’s International Realty and the Miettinen Collection.

The exhibition is open by appointment until July 11th, 2025. To make an appointment, please contact Riina Kylätasku at the Miettinen Collection (the email contact is below).

The exhibition is curated by Riina Kylätasku and explores the themes of spring and the beauty of life. How artists translate nature’s wild renewal into paint–revealing beauty not just in what grows, but in how we feel it. The title is inspired by Emily Dickinson’s famous poem “A Little Madness in the Spring:”

A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown – 
Who ponders this tremendous scene – 
This whole Experiment of Green – 
As if it were his own!

In my painting Early Life, I go back to the very beginning of life on Earth. What is life? How did life first arise? How is life connected?  Not only genetics and biology but many fields of inquiry are involved in trying to answer these origin questions.

There’s a subtle visual element in this painting arising from the embedded DNA code: under certain lighting conditions, when blue or purple tones come forward, large-scale structures emerge—only to dissolve again as the light shifts. The painting thus balances between order and chaos, between system and individual.  

If you would like to add Early Life to your collection, or are interested in visiting the exhibition A Little Madness in the Spring, please contact Riina Kylätasku at the Miettinen Collection: kylaetasku@miettinen-collection.de

Best regards,
Helena

About Helena:
A mathematician turned visual artist, Helena is intrigued by complexity and emerging systems. While her colorful work may appear random and disjointed, there is a systems process behind it, 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 lives in Berlin and holds a doctorate 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.

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

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.