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Reading girl. Photo: Fotolia/Tatyana Gladskih

Learning to Read - How to do it better

Since before the PISA tests, we have known that children’s educational success depends – among others – on their social and cultural background. But …
Photo: Valerie Pobloth.

Underway in Nigeria – Students from the Department of English and American Studies on Excursion to Ibadan

The English language has developed over centuries into a language family of World Englishes. A group of students from the Department of English and …
Apl. Prof. Dr. Martin Trauth (left) and his students. Photo: Karla Fritze.

“You can do more with Legos” – What do plastic building blocks have to do with a university course?

A practical course with Martin Trauth is packed with high-tech: infrared and ultrasound sensors, gyroscopes, magnetometers, multispectral cameras – …
Schlager researchers Mirco Limpinsel (left) and Vinzenz Hoppe. Photo: Karla Fritze.

Queue Up the Next Song - Two German literary scholars listen to Schlager music in the service of science

High culture isn’t everything: this is the basic idea underlying many hit Schlager songs, according to Vinzenz Hoppe and Mirco Limpinsel. Udo Jürgens’ …
Porpoise. Photo: Wikipedia.org/Ecomare.

The Dolphin’s Shy Relative - Genetically analyzing endangered cetaceans in the Baltic Sea

You need some luck to see them. Porpoises are shy and inconspicuous. These two-meter animals flash their dark fins above the water only to immediately …
Prof. Dr. Martina Giese. Photo: Karla Fritze

The Middle Ages Are Not So Far Away After All - Martina Giese wants to tap new historical sources

Who has not admired artful masterpieces in museums or sacral buildings of times long past? Such treasures continually inspire writers’ and filmmakers’ …
Prof. Dr. Ariane Walz. Photo: Karla Fritze.

Nature Conservation from Space – Researchers develop new methods for monitoring protected areas

Earth is being increasingly observed, measured, and photographed. Satellites orbiting our planet at altitudes of hundreds to a thousand kilometers are …
Dr. Natalia Ospina-Alvarez. Photo: Karla Fritze.

In Her Element – Why thallium and other trace elements are becoming a problem for the environment and what can be done about it

They are everywhere: in the soil, in the water, and sometimes even in the air, albeit often in such small quantities that they are hardly traceable. …
Potsdam Summer School participants in 2016. Image: IASS/Pierro Chiussi.

Potsdam Summer School Explores the Future of Cities – International exchange on the sustainability of human environments

Potsdam, 28.08.2017. The rapid pace of change around the world is presenting humankind and human environments with tremendous challenges. What …
Prof. Dr. Michael Hofreiter. Photo: Karla Fritze.

Fishing for DNA – A drilling core reveals the history of an entire ecosystem

How wild horses and chickens were bred thousands of years ago, which species were closely related to the long-extinct European straight-tusked …