From September 29 to October 1 the DAAD Global Centres Symposiums take place in Berlin. All necessary information regarding participation, programme and organisational issues can be found here.

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is pleased to kindly invite the DAAD-funded Global Centres including their partners and scholars to take part in the DAAD Global Centres Symposiums 2026. As in the conferences 2024, the Global Centres for Climate and Environment and the Global Centres for Health and Pandemic Preparedness will mainly have separate syposiums, that take place simultaneously but will have common parts:

1. Symposium of the Centres for Health and Pandemic Prevention: “Five Years of Impact, Five Years of Vision: Transforming Knowledge into Practice” and 
2. Symposium of the Centres for Climate and Environment: “Bridging the gap: Knowledge, Policy and Practice for Climate-Resilience and Sustainable
   Development” 

For 2026, the symposium concept has been adapted to the expected target groups. Instead of a conference centered on research presentations, as in previous years, the event will be organized as a symposium and focus on two complementary aspects:

• Achievements and Vision: The event will showcase each Centre’s accomplishments over the past five years, outline goals for the next five years, and highlight how knowledge can be translated into practical applications. Donor representatives and external stakeholders will be invited to learn about the programme’s outcomes.
• Scientific and science–policy interface–oriented part: Focusing on the translation of research into policy-relevant knowledge, implementation pathways, and practice-oriented solutions, this part will place a particular emphasis on workshops, in which smaller groups collaborate to achieve a specific outcome or produce a concrete result. Plenary formats like round table discussions, a poster session with pitching-presentations and at least one keynote lecture are planned as well. For the new cohort of PhDs starting their PhD as of mid-2026, a retreat will be included to exchange on existing research ideas, learn from peers and senior level researchers, and connect PhD researchers of the different Centres. 

Participation, Date & Venue

The target group of the Symposium is the Centres themselves, with particular emphasis on young scientists. Only this target group can participate in the call and register for the conference.

External stakeholders will be invited personally for the outreach-part of the symposiums.

The Conference takes place from 29 September to 1 October 2026 at Tagungswerk, Lindenstraße 85, 10969 Berlin.

Advisory Boards

In order to ensure that the conferences meet the needs and expectations of the academics at
the Centres, academic advisory boards with representatives of all Global Centres have been formed and accompany the planning process of the conferences. The tasks of the advisory board members include the participation in the programme conception, the preparation of the call for conference contributions (presentations, workshops, panels etc.), the selection of the proposals as well as the active participation in the conference itself.

Call for Sessions and Abstracts

Proposals for sessions/abstracts for Health and Pandemic Prevention can be submitted via the following link until 22 February 2026: Abstract submission Health

Proposals for sessions/abstracts for Climate and Environment can be submitted via the following link until 1 March 2026: Abstract submission Climate

Programme

The programme is still being developed and depends on the proposals for presentations and sessions. As soon as the programme is finalised, it will be published here.

Registration

Registration is expected to open in May 2026.