Falling Walls Lab Amsterdam
Three minutes is all it takes! During the Falling Walls Lab, students and early-career professionals present their innovative and ground-shaking ideas to a distinguished jury and the public. Which research will tear down walls in the future?
On 18 June 2026, the Duitsland Instituut Amsterdam will host the Falling Walls Lab Amsterdam as part of its 30th anniversary.
During this Science Slam, students and early-career professionals will pitch their innovative and groundbreaking idea or research in 3 minutes to a professional jury. The central question is:
“Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, where will walls come down and breakthroughs occur in the near future?”
The winner will travel to Berlin in November for the Falling Walls Global Finale.
The jury consists of: Anahit Galstyan (Head of Agronomy, Operations Technology, at BASF| Nunhems), Thomas Walter (Policy Officer at the German Embassy The Hague), Leah Niederhausen (PhD candidate Restitution, Archives and Historical Justice at the University of Humanistic Studies), Felix Bohr (Journalist at German weekly Der Spiegel) and David Caspar Peter (Associate Professor in Financial Accounting at the Erasmus University Rotterdam).
Speakers
Ellen Ipenburg Tomesen (moderator) has been working at the Dutch Embassy in Berlin for four years and is Head of the Science and Education Team. She is also accredited to Switzerland. Prior to this, she worked on various international dossiers and themes for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Jury:
Anahit Galstyan is a Plant Geneticist with extensive international experience spanning both academia and industry. Currently, she leads a global, multidisciplinary Agronomy team at OTEC within BASF | Nunhems. In this role, they focus on scouting, developing, and implementing innovative technologies that enable efficient and reliable seed production across diverse crops. They partner closely with crop seed production teams worldwide to address production challenges, enhance operational efficiency, and improve overall productivity.
Felix Bohr is a historian, author and journalist. He studied history and Catholic theology in Berlin and Rome. He has been working for the news magazine Der Spiegel since 2012 and currently heads the history department.
Leah Niederhausen is a historian and PhD Candidate at the University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht. She conducts research into the restitution of colonial archives, focusing on the (re)production of historical knowledge, narratives, and justice.
Caspar David Peter is an Associate Professor in Financial Accounting. He joined the Rotterdam School of Management after completing the PhD Program at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in 2015 and holds a Diploma (MSc equivalent) in Business and Economics from the Ruhr University Bochum. His research interest focus on economic consequences of transparency and combine the fields of financial accounting and economics.
Thomas Walter is the Cultural Affairs Officer at the German Embassy in The Hague, with many years of experience in the fields of event management and book retail.
