Science in the spotlight: winner of the Falling Walls Lab 2025 chosen!

Science in the spotlight: winner of the Falling Walls Lab 2025 chosen!

On August 1, 2025, the Falling Walls Lab Baden-Württemberg took place at the University of Konstanz, where innovative research projects were awarded. Andra-Lisa Hoyt, a doctoral student at the university, led the competition, in which ten participants presented their projects in three minutes each. Presentations were limited to a maximum of two slides, followed by a three-minute Q&A session from the judges. The participants also included three scientists from the University of Konstanz: Clovis Seumen, Oliva Saldanha and Pranav Kedia.

The projects ranged from faster and cheaper diagnostic tests for remote regions to the safe and efficient use of heart pumps to the generation of solar energy in unusual places, such as house walls or buses. The jury, which assessed the quality and innovative strength of the works presented, chose the three winners of the competition.

The winners of the competition

• 1. Platz: Florian Meißner
• 2. Platz: Carina Kanitz
• Publikumsfavorit: Mayank Kedia

While the jury decided on the winners, a panel discussion took place in which Giovanni Galizia, Tina Romer and Matthias Kiechle took part. Among other things, they discussed sustainable science communication and the role of media and platforms. Galizia emphasized the growing importance of evidence-based quality media and research to the public.

The event finally concluded with a musical supporting program and snacks. Florian Meißner has the chance to take part in the national finals of the Falling Walls competition in Berlin in the fall, which is an exciting prospect for everyone involved.

Focus on science communication

Science communication is not only considered important in competitions like the Falling Walls Lab. In its policy paper, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) emphasizes the importance of science for sustainable development and quality of life. Science communication should promote the anchoring of science in society and strengthen citizens' scientific maturity.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has also published a three-part video series entitled “Explored – Conversations about science communication in social media”. This series addresses the challenges of science communication in networks and develops recommendations for action. Various institutions also conducted surveys among scientists to analyze the state of science communication and honored outstanding achievements with the Communicator Prize.

The exchange about science and its communication remains of central importance for the future of research and the social acceptance of scientific findings. Events like the Falling Walls Lab are taking an important step in this direction.