The Caputh Einsteinhaus campus, Albert Einstein's former summerhouse, serves as a residential retreat for Einstein Fellows. This specialist site provides a serene environment for young scholars pursuing innovative, interdisciplinary projects outside their expertise. Located near Potsdam and Berlin, it supports six-month fellowships focused on boundary-crossing research in sciences and humanities, echoing Einstein's own creative work.
Fellows reside in the garden cottage, benefiting from proximity to academic institutions while enjoying Caputh's tranquil lakeside setting. At the end of their tenure, they present their work publicly at the Potsdam campus. This campus embodies the forum's ethos of intellectual freedom, hosting occasional events and embodying Einstein's spirit of curiosity and humanism. Stipends and accommodations enable focused, transformative work, producing lasting contributions through talks and publications.
The Potsdam campus of the Einstein Forum is the central venue for an international and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas. Established as a foundation by the state of Brandenburg, it functions as an 'open laboratory of the mind,' hosting public lectures, conferences, and workshops that tackle pressing contemporary issues across humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Under the direction of prominent philosophers like Susan Neiman, the campus fosters dialogue on topics such as morality, politics, justice, and the Enlightenment legacy.
This campus emphasizes innovative, non-disciplinary approaches, inviting scholars, artists, and public intellectuals to challenge conventional boundaries. Key projects include 'Morality and Politics,' 'Reconsidering the Enlightenment,' and 'Understanding Evil,' promoting rigorous debate in a historic setting near Potsdam's cultural landmarks. The forum's public talks and publications disseminate insights to a broad audience, contributing to intellectual life in Germany and beyond.