Looking back, 2025 was a busy year, marked by important milestones both at the institutional level and for individual fellows—including the institute evaluation, the first draft of the PhD handbook, PhD Day, numerous supervisory board meetings, publications, and dissertation submissions, and so much more. In between, there were also the unscripted moments of spontaneous peer feedback, musings on health and wellbeing in PhD life, and the occasional—but so necessary—infectious laugh and chatter that enlivened the otherwise muted surroundings of the Falkenbrunnen offices. Yet what stands out as the most comprehensive event of the year is the 2025 DLGS Summer School.
Event spotlight - 2025 DLGS Summer School
DLGS Alumni Reception: 18 September
On 18 September, the 2025 DLGS Summer School kicked off with a hybrid alumni reception. IOER Director and DLGS Chair Marc Wolfram and Career Commissioner Gerd Lintz attended in person; DLGS Scientific Coordinator, Nora Gortcheva moderated the session. DLGS alumni Riyan Habeeb, Shikha Ranjha and Jessica Hemingway participated on site, while Lita Akmentina, Benjamin Antwi-Boasiako, Mengfan Jiang, Goran Muric, Fahim Nawaz, Mei-Ing Ruprecht joined via Zoom from across Germany and around the world. Doctoral fellows, Rana Abdelkader, Sai Varsha Akavarapu, Batchimeg Enkhbat, Vivek Krishnan, Beatriz Oliveira, Rajeev Ranjan, Alavy Kifait Reza, Erik Schmidt, Oskar Schneider and Varsami (Ersi) Zafeiriou represented the current DLGS/ NEXtra cohorts.
The session opened with an overview of recent institutional developments. Marc Wolfram highlighted the institute’s evaluation as a critical milestone, emphasizing DLGS’s important role as a cross-cutting unit. Traditionally, evaluators take a strong interest in DLGS, and this year was no different—the discussion during the DLGS presentation was positive and highly engaged. Another key development that Marc Wolfram discussed was the ongoing expansion of the DLGS programme, in collaboration with partner institutions UNU-FLORES and TUD Dresden, supported by a new DAAD-funded track.
Afterwards, under the theme "If I Could Tell My Younger Self: Lessons from the PhD and Beyond," alumni reflected on their experiences navigating the PhD and transitioning into professional life. Several recurring insights emerged: recognizing when to bring a dissertation to a close, maintaining a healthy work–life balance and enjoying the journey, cultivating networks, and embracing uncertainty while preparing backup plans. The session offered thoughtful reflections on professional life, while personal anecdotes brought humour and openness to the conversation.
Throughout the event, alumni demonstrated a strong commitment to the broader DLGS community. Their readiness to share experiences, stay connected across cohorts, and support current doctoral candidates was evident—whether by proposing conferences meetups and future collaborations, or requesting regular institutional updates.
The reception reflected the enduring bonds among DLGS graduates. Although they now pursue diverse career paths around the world, alumni created a warm and collegial environment both in person and online. This strong sense of support continues to be a defining hallmark of the DLGS community.
DLGS Summer School presentations: 19 September
On 19 September, under the theme “Shaping Spaces for Sustainability Transformation: Challenges for Policy and Planning,” 21 doctoral candidates from graduate programs in Germany and abroad presented their research. The panels highlighted sustainability transformation in urban and regional contexts, covering topics from transformative governance, participatory decision-making, and digital tools in urban planning to urban resources, nexus approaches, and industrial decarbonization. The programme also showcased human-centered design, urban resilience, and ecological strategies to address climate and social challenges, reflecting diverse methods and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Senior scientists and professors from IOER, TUD, and UNU-FLORES, and other institutions— Martina Artmann, Martin Behnisch, Serena Coetzee, Robert Knippschild, Tobias Krüger, Julia Leventon, Gerd Lintz, Maria Nieswand, Stefanie Rößler, and Marc Wolfram—participated in the panels and provided constructive feedback to graduate work at various stages of research development.
Lauren Andres (University College London) delivered the keynote lecture, titled “Planning for Change and Uncertainties: Adaptability, AI and Their Critical Underpinnings for the Future of Cities.” Her presentation addressed challenges for urban planning in the context of technological and societal change and offered conceptual lenses that resonated throughout subsequent discussions beyond the summer school.
What stood out throughout the event was not only the breadth of ideas but also the shared ambition all attendees brought to addressing complex questions of sustainability transformation. The atmosphere was exceptionally engaging—both during the panel sessions, moderated by IOER postdocs and researcher associates, and during the breaks, which were filled with conversations and new connections.
Walking Tour Königsbrücker Straße: 20 September
The Summer School aims not only at providing a platform for doctoral candidates to present and discuss their research, but also at creating opportunities for informal engagement around shared concerns. This dimension of embedded understanding—outside the panel discussions and into real urban contexts—was obvious during the walking tour of the Königsbrücker Straße on 20 September.
Martin Schulte-Wissermann led the tour, tracing a contentious history of expansion and renovation and the efforts of the citizens’ initiative “Königsbrücker muss leben” (“Königsbrücker Must Live”). He shared historical documents and on-the-ground insights, showing how design, mobility, sustainability, and community interests intersect—and sometimes clash—in urban development.
The tour was particularly timely, taking place shortly after the approval of expansion plans that the initiative had sought to halt. This offered a poignant reminder of the real-world challenges that both researchers and civic activists confront when navigating political processes and competing visions of the city.
The morning concluded with a joint lunch at Elbsalon, offering participants the chance to connect informally and continue discussions sparked during the tour.
In 2026, the DLGS Summer School will be part of the 4th IOER Conference under the theme "Space & Transformation" that will explore how infrastructure, land-use changes, digitalisation, and the shift toward sustainability create new spatial divisions or open opportunities for a more equitable future. Through future events and initiatives, DLGS will continue to address pressing research questions while giving doctoral candidates a platform to present their work, build networks, and engage with an international academic community.
