A Year of Ideas, Collaboration, and Global Learning

2025 was an active and ambitious year at Berlin International University. Across faculties, students and professors worked on new projects, traveled, published research, and strengthened BI’s international connections.

Here’s a quick look at the work that shaped our year.

Architecture & Design: A Faculty in Motion

Few faculties moved as dynamically as Architecture & Design in 2025. Their year unfolded across exhibitions, workshops, new programs, and international collaborations.

Highlights included:

• BI Annual Openings (Fall & Spring) — presenting studio work and architectural projects across levels.
• Berlin Design Week — sharing design concepts within the city’s larger creative network.
• AEDES Workshop Exhibition — expanding hands-on learning and public engagement.
• Glasfabrik Pavilion and Exhibition Opening — one of the most visible outputs of the year.
• Launch of the MA Architecture & Spatial Practices program — a major academic milestone.
• Excursion to Venice — connecting theory with one of architecture’s most significant cultural contexts.
• GIDE International Workshop in Valencia — strengthening ties with partner institutions abroad.
   

Architecture and Design at BI continued to be defined by movement — between studios, cities, and collaborative environments.

Business & Economics: Learning Through Real-World Encounters

The Business Administration faculty kept students close to real institutions, giving academic content an applied, international frame.

In 2025, students visited:

• The Embassy of Ireland, where BI also launched a macroeconomic study.
• The Embassy of Spain, linked to Economic Policy coursework.
• EY Berlin 
• BOC GmbH
   

Each visit added context to classroom discussions, showing how policy, economics, and management operate in practice.

Research in 2025: Themes and Publications

Research output this year spanned topics connected to well-being, digital work, and international economic relations.

Major themes included:

• Postgraduate mental health
• Workplace readiness
• Digital loneliness
• Work–life balance in tech
• Irish–German economic links

Publications involving BI faculty, alumni, and collaborators

• Work on postgraduate mental health (with a former Erasmus intern).
• A case study on workplace readiness of interns in Germany.
• A systematic review examining digital loneliness.
• Research on work–life balance strategies in the tech industry (with a BI alumna).
• An economic study produced with the Embassy of Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
   

These publications reflect BI’s ongoing collaboration between faculty members, alumni, interns, and institutional partners.

Academic Activities Across BI

Throughout the year, BI continued its regular academic programs, offering space for presentations and intellectual exchange:

• BI Talks
• Open Lectures
• Research Colloquia
   

These events supported dialogue across programs and created opportunities for students and faculty to share ongoing work.

DAAD Programs and Opportunities in 2025

DAAD funding played an important role in supporting students and academic activities during the year.

Stibet (International Students)

• 2 scholarships (6 months each)
• 1 DAAD Prize (€1,000), awarded on 5 December
• Partial funding for BI’s Welcome Week

PROMOS (Outgoing Mobility)

• Partial funding for study stays abroad, including Japan
• Additional partial scholarships for international experiences

Guest Scholar

• Sally Stone spent late February to the end of September at BI, contributing through teaching, thesis supervision, and participation in a Research Colloquium.
   

These programs strengthened BI’s mobility pathways and provided support for international academic engagement.

Looking Forward to 2026

Across faculties, research projects, academic events, and international partnerships, 2025 was a year built on action and collaboration. The work completed this year sets a strong foundation for continued growth — in teaching, research, and global outreach.

2025 moved us forward. 2026 will take us further.

Image Credit: Silja Hillmann