The academy comprises up to eighty Regular Members who are elected on the basis of outstanding academic merits. In addition, the academy encompasses Retired Members relieved of their duties, Honorary Members as well as Corresponding Members from Germany and abroad. New membership proposals must be supported by at least three Regular Members or by the Executive Board and undergo expert peer-review before being decided by the General Assembly of the Academy.

The Academy is a public corporation based at Hamburg. In addition to Hamburg, it also engages members from academic institutions based in Bremen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Schleswig-Holstein.

Our research

Interdisciplinary Working Groups

The core of the Academy's work is constituted by the activities of the scientific Working Groups and Project Groups, whose members come from a broad range of different disciplines. The groups work on fundamental scientific problems and on topics of societal relevance. The Working Groups address for example topics of medical relevance, energy supply, concepts of justice in global contexts, and the scholarly study of textual traditions. The outcomes of these projects are disseminated in digital and print formats, thesis papers and public events that provide new impulses and actively contribute to discussion with political and social stakeholders.

Long-term research projects

In cooperation with the University of Hamburg, the Academy is currently supervising six Long-term academic projects of international significance as part of the general Academies’ Programme of Germany. The researchers are conducting basic research in the humanities and, at the end of the project period of 12 to 25 years, develop for example a digital dictionary of German sign language, or they compile digital empirical data collections of indigenous northern Eurasian languages that are running the risk of extinction. In this way, the Academy provides long-term digital knowledge repositories for the sciences and for society.

The Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities coordinates the Long-term projects as part of the Academies' Programme, which is the largest research programme in the humanities and social sciences in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Network

The Academy is connected to the research institutions of northern Germany through its members and fellows, but also through numerous event cooperations. It offers a forum for interdisciplinary dialogue and provides a platform for public discussions with representatives of various institutions and disciplines. By co-opting researchers affiliated to national and international research institutions as Corresponding Members, the Academy expands its research network and fosters worldwide cooperation.

Cooperation with the three national academies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania prepares the ground for international exchange between the respective academy members and young researchers. Eventually, a joint network of scientists shall be established in order to facilitate intensive cooperation in research projects.  

The Academy is one of the eight founding institutions of the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS).

Whom we support

Young researchers

The promotion of young scientists today secures the scientific progress of tomorrow. The Academy supports outstanding young scientists from northern German research institutions in various ways.

Young Academy Fellowships provide financial and ideational support to young researchers for three years. The fellows initiate research groups, network with renowned academy scientists, and organise scientific events.

The Forum Junge Wissenschaft provides annual funding for the organisation of interdisciplinary scientific conferences, which are organised independently by young researchers. 

The Academy regularly promotes young researchers from the Academy's northern German domain with the Joachim Jungius Prize and the Elise Reimarus Prize. 

Hamburg Science Prize

The Academy awards the Hamburg Science Prize every two years. This award is endowed with an amount of 100,000 EUR. It is donated by the Foundation „Hamburgische Stiftung für Wissenschaften, Entwicklung und Kultur Helmut und Hannelore Greve“. The Hamburg Science Prize supports research in areas of particular societal significance, such as energy efficiency, groundbreaking discoveries in physics, and issues of One Health.

What we offer

Events

The dialogue between science and society lies at the heart of the Academy's mission. To this end we offer public events such as panel discussions and lecture series that provide insights into cutting-edge research and scientific discoveries.

Symposia and workshops promote scientific exchange between scientists from different disciplines. Dialogue-oriented event formats offer state-of-the-art information on current research for representatives of politics and business. The topics covered include, for instance, climate research and artificial intelligence as well as issues of global justice and international peace. Admission to all events is free.

Scientific publications

The Academy members contribute to knowledge transfer from science to society. The Academy promotes free access to scientific literature. Many book publications are being offered as complimentary e-books. On a regular basis, interdisciplinary collections of short essays on timely topics a published.

Science communication

The science communication of the Academy offers orientation in fast-moving times. In addition to its website and publications, it also uses social media channels such as X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and YouTube for this purpose, including an interactive, multimedia dossier on the topic of „Shaping the energy transition in northern Germany with hydrogen“. The Academy is also breaking new ground in science communication for a broader public by communicating scientific methods and findings through science comics.

The Academy podcast „Science as a compass“ („Wissenschaft als Kompass“) presents the members and the work of the Academy in all its diversity. It can be accessed free of charge on our website and numerous popular podcast platforms. The „Akademie aktuell“ series of events in cooperation with NDR Info has a particularly wide outreach.  

Digitalisation