Hamburg – The New Institute Foundation gGmbH, initiated in 2016 by entrepreneur Erck Rickmers (60), will conclude its Fellowship Program in the summer of 2025. The non-profit organization, which aims to bring together renowned academics from various disciplines with representatives from politics, business, media, and the arts, was only partially able to achieve its ambitious goals within the framework of a fellowship program.
 
Challenges and Insights
THE NEW INSTITUTE was intended to develop progressive responses to the societal challenges of our time. Despite the great commitment of all those involved, it turned out to be difficult to lead academics and practitioners into new forms of cooperation. Trans-sectoral research on fundamental issues requires longer-term collaboration, which cannot be achieved within the framework of a fellowship program. In addition, it proved difficult to attract outstanding academics and practitioners for a one-year residency, as they are often not available on a long-term basis due to family or professional reasons.
 
Statement from Erck Rickmers
Erck Rickmers commented on the decision as follows: "As one of many people who look to the future with concern, I tried to make a societal contribution with THE NEW INSTITUTE. This did not succeed to the extent I had hoped. The decision to end the fellowship program was thoroughly discussed with the Board of Trustees. The members, Prof. Dr. Sabine Kunst and Prof. Dr. Burkhard Schwenker, share the reasoning behind the decision and respect this step. I regret that we could not meet the expectations we had raised."
 
Gratitude
Rickmers expressed gratitude to all supporters, staff, and partners for their valuable contributions and commitment: "Although the Institute could not fully achieve its self-determined goals, the work was by no means without results." He highlighted in particular the achievements of the Fellows of THE NEW INSTITUTE, who completed numerous book projects, authored scientific articles, organized conferences, and held workshops. By the end of the academic year 2024/25, around 140 Fellows will have worked at THE NEW INSTITUTE. Additionally, the work of four research centers has been funded, located at Humboldt University in Berlin (until 2028), the University of California Santa Barbara in the USA, the Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice, Italy (both until 2025), and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (until 2024).
 
Future Prospects
The Foundation’s Managing Director, Dr. Britta Padberg, said: "We still have a full academic year ahead of us, in which we plan to succeed in our work. The Institute's activities will continue to be transparently documented and published." Given the global challenges, it is more important than ever to promote innovative and interdisciplinary approaches. The Foundation intends to maintain its commitment to societal issues and develop new funding formats. The experiences and insights gained from the previous initiative are helpful in this regard.
 
Further Information
For more information and inquiries, please contact the Director, Dr. Britta Padberg, at +49 160 94417134 or by e-mail at britta.padberg@thenew.institute.
Learn more about the Institute's activities on our website and in our annual reports covering the period 2020-2023.