For more than ten years, Dr Heidi Mauersberger has been conducting research at the Chair of Social and Organisational Psychology at Humboldt University in Berlin. As well as emotion regulation, the quality of social interactions and the perception of pain, the psychologist focuses on a topic that most people encounter at some point in their lives: workplace conflicts. She was recently interviewed by the Tagesspiegel for an article which suggested that arguments in the office are not necessarily a bad thing. We have now spoken to the researcher to find out what a constructive culture of debate entails and how it can influence companies’ capacity for innovation.

I was fascinated by the fact that one and the same disagreement can play out in very different ways: it can lead people to develop better solutions – or it can cause lasting damage to their working relationship. Conflicts are inevitable in the workplace because people bring different perspectives, interests and ways of working to the table. What matters, therefore, is not just whether there is a disagreement, but how a conflict is perceived and handled. I am particularly interested in the emotional dynamics involved: when does a disagreement remain objective, and when do those involved feel personally attacked?

“Conflicts are inevitable in the workplace because people bring different perspectives, interests and ways of working to the table.”

A central theme running through my research is the question of when a task-related conflict tips over into a relational conflict. Task conflicts, for example, involve differing views on how a problem should be solved or a task carried out. Relational conflicts, by contrast, are characterised by personal tensions, hurt feelings or disparagement.
I am interested in the emotional and communicative processes that facilitate this transition – and how it is possible to negotiate differing positions without damaging the relationship between those involved. Factors such as the interpretation of the other person’s behaviour, the quality of the interaction and how one manages one’s own emotions play an important role in this.

The biggest misconception is probably that conflict is inherently harmful and that a harmonious team is automatically a good team. A lack of dissent can also mean that employees do not voice their concerns, do not address mistakes, or go along with the majority opinion too readily.
At the same time, it would be equally wrong to portray every conflict as productive. Objective differences of opinion can open up new perspectives and improve decision-making. However, as soon as the dispute becomes personal, the potential benefits diminish significantly. The crucial question is therefore not: ‘Is conflict good or bad?’, but: ‘What kind of conflict are we experiencing, and how is it being handled?’

I was surprised by just how much even a personal element within a professional conflict can impair subsequent performance. Our research suggested that it is not merely the immediate experience of stress that is decisive here. Rather, the loss of mental energy appears to be particularly relevant.
Anyone who, during a professional dispute, also has to deal with belittlement, mistrust or personal tension subsequently has fewer resources available for the actual task at hand. Interpersonal conflicts are therefore not only unpleasant, but can actually leave people feeling completely drained. This shows why treating one another with respect is by no means merely a matter of good manners, but is also crucial to a team’s performance.

“Interpersonal conflicts are (…) not only unpleasant, but can actually leave people feeling completely drained. ”

A constructive culture of debate emerges when differing viewpoints are explicitly permitted, whilst at the same time clear boundaries for how we interact with one another are in place. Criticism should relate to ideas, decisions or processes – not to a person’s character or competence. It is also important to address conflicts at an early stage, before negative interpretations and hurt feelings become entrenched.
Managers play a key role in setting an example here. Through their own behaviour, they shape whether dissent is seen as a valuable contribution or as a disruption. This includes being able to accept criticism themselves, admitting to uncertainties and intervening consistently in the event of personal attacks. A good manager does not prevent every conflict. Rather, they create conditions under which conflicts can be dealt with objectively.

What matters most is how managers react to the first critical comment. If they thank the person for their objection, ask interested follow-up questions and give the argument serious consideration, they send out a strong signal. If, on the other hand, they react defensively or dismissively, or later punish the person in question indirectly, everyone present will very quickly learn that openness is not welcome.
It is also helpful to actively seek out counter-arguments before the manager themselves states their position. Otherwise, there is a risk that employees will simply go along with the decision. Psychological safety does not arise from a mission statement or the phrase ‘My door is always open’, but through repeated, concrete experiences: I can raise a problem, express a different opinion or admit a mistake without being personally disparaged for it.

“What matters most is how managers react to the first critical comment.”

Innovation rarely arises when everyone is of the same mind from the outset. Teams need different perspectives, critical questioning and a willingness to challenge existing solutions. Objective dissent can help to identify weaknesses at an earlier stage, develop more alternatives and avoid hasty decisions.
However, this only works if employees actually voice their thoughts and other viewpoints are seriously considered. In a culture of debate characterised by personal attacks or fear, unconventional ideas are more likely to be held back. Relationship conflicts also tie up attention and energy that are then lacking for creative thinking. It is not the greatest possible amount of debate that fosters innovation, but rather the ability to use differences of opinion respectfully and productively.

A healthy culture of debate is characterised by the fact that staff can disagree, ask questions and even change their minds without losing face. Different perspectives are not merely tolerated as a matter of form, but are clearly taken into account in decision-making. Following a controversial discussion, those involved can continue to work together in a spirit of trust.
A conflict becomes problematic when the discussion shifts from the issue at hand to supposed personal characteristics: ‘You’re incompetent’, ‘It’s impossible to work with you’ or ‘You always do it like that’. Other warning signs include sarcasm, exclusion, recurring unresolved disputes, brooding over conversations and deliberately avoiding certain people or topics. At the very latest when employees stop voicing important objections in order to avoid negative reactions, action is needed.

“A conflict becomes problematic when the discussion shifts from the issue at hand to supposed personal characteristics: ‘You’re incompetent’, ‘It’s impossible to work with you’ or ‘You always do it like that’. ”

I would advise managers to make dealing with dissent a visible and integral part of their leadership routine. This means, for example, explicitly asking before important decisions: ‘What are the arguments against this proposal?’ or ‘What risks are we overlooking at the moment?’ It is then crucial not to justify or penalise the person raising the objection, but rather to acknowledge their contribution first and examine the substance of their argument.
This establishes a key principle: criticism of an idea is not an attack on a person, but a contribution to our collective work. When employees repeatedly experience that objective dissent is welcome and treated with respect, this not only improves the culture of debate, but also enhances the quality of decisions and the team’s capacity for innovation.

Der Beitrag Effective Conflict Management for better Working Atmosphere and Spirit of Innovation erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Weekly Wrap-up: Highlights in week 47

The Forum Junge Spitzenforschung is a highlight every year when it comes to showcasing young researchers and their excellent projects. This year, the focus was on topics related to “Water & Water Management.” Six finalist teams from Berlin’s major universities presented their innovative research projects, which were awarded a total of 42,000 euros. The following teams won, recognized by a jury of business experts for their practice-oriented solutions and transfer potential:

• 1st place (€12,000):
  • Bio-adsorber beads for water purification, Dr. Alejandro José Lorente Sanchez, Dr. Olaf Wagner, Ana Zidar, Freie Universität Berlin
• 2nd place (€10,000):
  • DeepANN-Hydro3D, Abdelrahman Ahmed Ali Abdelrahman, Technische Universität Berlin
• 3rd place (€8,000):
  • iOLE – intelligent online leak detection, Dr. Ella Steins, Nikolai-Iraj Sanamrad, Technische Universität Berlin
• 4th places (each €4,000):
  • CompactWater, Dr. Christian E. Halbig, Freie Universität Berlin;
  • High-performance atmospheric water harvester (HYVEST), Dr. Gustav Graeber, Maria Geidel, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin;
  • Ecopotfilter – Modular Biopolymer-Based Water Filtration for Heavy Metal Ion Removal, Dr. Mohammad Fardin Gholami, Dr. Siamak Gholami, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

The event is an initiative of Humboldt-Innovation GmbH and the Stiftung Industrieforschung, and showcases how outstanding young research is supported and celebrated in Berlin.

Why are young people turning to the extreme right, and what can we do about it? On November 21, 2025, researchers, journalists, policymakers, and representatives of civil society came together at the Lovers & Leaders Space in Berlin to discuss exactly this question. Participants included, among others, Prof. Dr. Heike Klüver (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Prof. Dr. Sara Binzer Hobolt (The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)), Prof. Dr. Theresa Kuhn (Universiteit van Amsterdam), and Dr. Lena Gumnior (Alliance 90/The Greens).

Laura Möller, CEO of UNITE and Managing Director of AI NATION, has now been selected by Capital magazine as one of the “Top 40 Under 40,” recognized as individuals who achieve extraordinary things for German society. Laura can look back on an impressive career in the startup sector: she is a successful founder, has served as an investor, board observer, member and director, business angel, and today successfully leads UNITE and AI NATION. The startup factory UNITE is now supported by 35 partners as well as by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, which is funding the initiative with a total of 25 million euros. AI NATION is also a recent achievement: it represents the recent merger of the AI hubs K.I.E.Z. in Berlin and AI Munich. The merger aims to provide even better support for AI startups.

Der Beitrag Week 47: Forum Junge Spitzenforschung erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Weekly Wrap-up: Highlights in week 45

On the occasion of the anniversary of the Reichspogromnacht on November 9, 1938, the Executive Board of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin gathered in front of the university’s main building to clean the 20 Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) located there and to commemorate the Jewish victims of National Socialism. With this act, HU once again seeks to take a stand against antisemitism and for democracy, humanity, and peaceful coexistence. (Photo: Stefan Klenke)

Last week, the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) underwent its first evaluation by the reviewers of the German federal and state governments’ Excellence Strategy, under which the BUA has been funded as an Excellence Network since 2019. With the submission of its self-assessment report on August 1, 2025, and the on-site visit by the German Council of Science and Humanities on November 4–5, 2025, the BUA has reached an important milestone on the way to a decision about the continuation of its funding. The final decision will be announced on March 12, 2026.

You can look forward to the Forum Junge Spitzenforschung (Forum for Young Top Research), which will take place next week on November 17, 2025, at Mindspace in Berlin-Mitte under the theme “Water & Water Management.” Six finalist teams made up of young researchers from Berlin’s major universities will receive awards totaling 42,000 euros. The FJS is an initiative of Humboldt-Innovation GmbH and the Stiftung Industrieforschung (Industrial Research Foundation).

Author and keynote speaker Tina Klüwer, former managing director of K.I.E.Z. (Artificial Intelligence Entrepreneurship Center), presented her new book Zukunft made in Germany (Future Made in Germany) on November 5, 2025, at the Berlin hub of AI Nation. The book addresses the central question of how Germany can remain innovative and sovereign amid the fast-paced global technology race. (Photo: Ana by Valdivia Design)

The Startup Verband has elected a new board. Heike Freund of Marvel Fusion and Nils Aldag of Sunfire now head the network, and Verena Pausder has been reappointed as chairwoman of the board.

Der Beitrag Week 45: HU commemorates the Reich Pogrom Night erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Weekly Wrap-up: Our topics in week 43

Berlin aims to become Europe’s leading AI hub. With the opening of the #ai_berlin hub on 22 October 2025, an important step has been taken toward this goal. The hub will serve as a guide, platform, and showcase for everything Berlin has to offer in the field of artificial intelligence. Volker Hofmann, Managing Director of Humboldt-Innovation, and founders from HU Startups attended the opening event. The launch was officially initiated by Berlin’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Franziska Giffey, together with Dr. Stefan Franzke, Managing Director of Berlin Partner.

On 20 and 21 October 2025, Volker Hofmann, representing Humboldt-Innovation GmbH, welcomed a delegation from Shenzhen, China, to the Humboldt Graduate School. Over the course of two days, experts from Berlin’s business and research communities provided insights into political and economic developments in Germany in the context of globalization.

The HI Academy is seeing strong demand for its two new workshops: 1. “Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults”, and “Treatment of Adults on the Autism Spectrum”. Registration has been open for about three weeks, and one of the courses is already nearly fully booked.

The winners of the Humboldt Innovation Award have now been announced: Neuroscientist Barbara Hollunder received the Dissertation Award, and physicist Daniel Kohl was honored with the BA/MA Award – a great success!

The Science & Startup campaign has launched: With the new “We turn” campaign, the startup composite shows how startups emerge from research.

Der Beitrag Week 43: Opening of the #ai_berlin hub erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Weekly Wrap-up: Our topics in calendar week 42.

You are currently reading our very first Weekly Wrap-up! When we gave the blog a new design, we created this new category, among other things. At the end of each week, we look back on the past few days together and summarize the most important events.

• We launched our new blog.
• You received the second issue of our INSIGHTS newsletter and are now informed about all important updates regarding HI, HU and the startup scene: This year, HI has celebrated its 20th anniversary, the startup factory UNITE has received an initial funding of 20 million Euro and much more.
• Winter term 2025/2026 has started. This autumn, 7,860 freshmen begin to study at Humboldt University.
• On our blog, we published an interview with HU researcher Dr. Tolga Wagner as part of our HI:STORIES series. Also, we crafted a new HI:BITS with 10 facts about water (2025’s topic of the Forum Junge Spitzenforschung).
• The Humboldt-Store has started a raffle to which you can register until October 20, 2025. The prize is a backpack from the store.

Der Beitrag Week 42: INSIGHTS, water and flashchips erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Essentially, we’re building a high-speed camera for the nanoworld. With electron microscopes, we don’t just want to visualize the tiniest structures. We want to track how minuscule components, like transistors, switch during operation; in other words, we’re aiming to look inside a working computer chip in real time. These insights help us not only to better understand today’s technologies but also open up pathways to the components of tomorrow: from more powerful semiconductors and novel optoelectronic elements to magnetic memory devices for spintronics.

An electron microscope is, in principle, like an extremely powerful magnifying glass, but instead of using light, it uses electrons. This allows us to visualize structures a thousand times smaller than what a conventional light microscope can reveal, down to individual atoms. Electron microscopy is used to investigate materials in all their detail: for example, in medicine to view cells and viruses; in materials science to develop new substances; or in semiconductor engineering to analyze computer chips at the nanoscale. It’s truly a key tool for making the invisible visible.

The biggest current challenge is to capture ultra-fast processes in the nanosecond range while preparing samples that remain stable under real-world operating conditions in the electron microscope. Preparing such electrically contacted and electron-transparent samples is extremely delicate; critical properties are often lost in the process. To overcome this problem, we developed a special carrier chip system called the FLASHgrid, which significantly simplifies both the fabrication and contacting of these samples. This provides a foundation for conducting reliable experiments on functioning nanoscale devices.

With Interference Gating (iGate), we have developed a method that makes ultrafast processes directly visible inside the electron microscope, essentially a strobe light for the nanoworld. You can think of it like an entirely new shutter mechanism, similar to a film camera, but with no mechanical aperture needing to close and no film that has to move. This makes the method surprisingly easy to implement, without long downtimes or costly microscope modifications. As a result, we can now capture not only snapshots in the nanosecond range but also entire “movie sequences” of dynamic events, such as the switching of a nanostructured diode.

The FLASHgrid is a MEMS-based carrier chip system that has now reached product maturity thanks to a collaboration with Ferdinand-Braun-Institut gGmbH, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik (FBH). It solves a core problem in electron microscopy: until now, preparing tiny, electrically contacted samples was extremely time-consuming and expensive, sometimes taking days for just a single sample. Our chip reduces this effort to just a few hours, as its adaptive electrodes can flexibly adjust to different geometries. This not only makes sample preparation faster and more cost-effective, but also more reliable and reproducible. In the long term, the FLASHgrid enables entirely new workflows in both research and industry. It’s a tool that not only simplifies everyday lab work but also accelerates the development of future nanotechnologies.

The innovative aspect of the FLASHgrid is that it drastically lowers the barrier of sample preparation. Previously, creating electrically contacted samples for electron microscopy was an expensive, specialized process mastered by only a few experts. Our chip radically simplifies this step: thanks to the adaptive electrodes, a wide range of sample geometries can be quickly and reliably contacted – whether they are semiconductors, optoelectronic structures, or magnetic materials.

This benefits research labs, which can significantly increase their throughput, as well as the industry, particularly in semiconductor and materials development, where time is literally money. The FLASHgrid enables shorter development cycles while offering deeper insights into next-generation components. It is, therefore, both a driver of innovation in basic research and a tool with direct added value for tomorrow’s technologies.

Prototypes of the FLASHgrid

What fascinates me most about my work is that with our methods, we don’t just gain a better understanding of existing materials – we are also laying the groundwork for future technologies. When we learn how electrons move in nanostructures and how components actually function during operation, we can develop more powerful and energy-efficient chips in the future. But the perspectives go far beyond that: our methods also allow for the investigation of novel optoelectronic systems, such as for quantum communication, or magnetic structures for spintronics. In the long term, such insights could even help develop more sustainable materials or form the basis for entirely new computing and memory technologies. In this sense, I see electron microscopy not just as a tool for analysis, but as a key to unlocking future technological leaps.

The most obvious application is in the semiconductor industry, which is constantly working on developing smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient components. Here, our methods can directly help to better understand how new structures function and to shorten development cycles. Companies in optoelectronics – for instance, for next-generation LEDs or photonic devices as well as the magnetics and spintronics sectors, which are working on future memory and computing architectures, also stand to benefit.

Beyond that, research institutes and companies in materials development are potential partners: anyone researching new materials for sustainable technologies, batteries, or quantum applications gains a crucial advantage from high-resolution, time-resolved insights. With the new DElPhIN lab we are currently building at the Institute of Physics at Humboldt University Berlin, we are laying the foundation for exactly this: a specialized laboratory for dynamic electron phase imaging, enabling close collaboration between university research and industry.

From the beginning, it was never just the application of a method that fascinated me, but its further development. Even during my studies, I was drawn to tinkering with the instruments themselves and exploring how to expand their capabilities – a red thread that has run through my bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD. I’ve always been driven by the belief that with new tools, you can also ask and answer new questions.

What moves me deeply is that I get to continue this work in Berlin, the city where not only the electron microscope was invented, but also the foundations for time-resolved electron microscopy were laid. Being able to develop my own innovative methods in this field is a great honor and also a very personal motivation. Because what drives me is not so much the idea of creating something entirely new for myself, but rather making a contribution that enables future generations of researchers to gain new insights into the world of the smallest structures using improved instruments.

There wasn’t one single pivotal moment for me, but rather many small ones that came together over the years. Scientifically, a key moment was certainly when we first broke the nanosecond barrier with iGate and were able to directly visualize charge transport in a switching semiconductor. But just as influential were the encounters with people whose contributions to electron microscopy have changed our view of the world. Awards and recognitions for my research have also shown me that I’m on the right track, a nice feeling that motivates me to keep going. But the most important thing for me has been finding fellow travelers along the way: long-time colleagues who have become friends. Without that team spirit, the many long nights in the lab would have been nearly impossible.

What fascinates me most today is that we’re developing tools that not only enable new insights into physics, but also make daily lab work easier for many. A great example is the FLASHgrid: it makes the labor-intensive and expensive preparation for electrically contacted experiments significantly faster and easier. It’s important to me that this doesn’t just benefit us, but also frees up researchers around the world, allowing them to focus more on the scientific questions themselves rather than getting lost in long preparations. Seeing that a tool we developed from an idea is now tangibly contributing to more efficient and accessible research is one of my biggest motivations.

Setbacks are just part of research; sometimes, despite months of preparation, an experiment fails due to a detail that couldn’t have been foreseen. I try to see this as a learning process: every failure shows me where to look more closely and often opens up new ideas I hadn’t considered before. The team is also crucial: when you’re pulling all-nighters together in the lab, you share both the disappointments and the small successes. That makes setbacks more bearable and ensures that something positive always comes out of them in the end.

If I could wish for one thing, it would be an answer to how far we can push time-resolved electron holography. We recently broke through the picosecond barrier, a huge step that showed what’s possible. At the same time, we’re already working on an optoelectronic implementation that could even take us into the femtosecond range. This would create a tool that allows us to make the three-dimensional potential distribution of fundamental physical processes visible like a film, to literally film electrons at work. For me, that’s a fascinating vision: that in the future, we won’t just understand what happens, but actually witness how it happens.

When I do manage to stop thinking about physics, I devote myself to my many hobbies, which also often involve working with my hands: from turntablism, to tinkering with cars, to building movie prop replicas. I also try to spend as much time as possible with my family. A great compromise that brings a lot of these things together, for me, are science slams. We usually all have a great time there and I only talk about my work for ten minutes.

Der Beitrag Interview with physicist Dr. Tolga Wagner erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.