News from the region

Apply now and make entrepreneurial successes visible! The competition for the "Zukunftspreis Brandenburg" 2026 is now open: Companies from all over the state can now apply for the prestigious award. This is the 22nd time that the Future Prize has honoured outstanding entrepreneurial achievements. Registration is open online at www.zukunftspreis-brandenburg.de until 31 May 2026.

The project kick-off on 18/19 February 2026 focused on technology transfer – at GEMIC in Karlsruhe (9–11 March 2026), the IHP will be presenting a real-time demonstration of stable millimetre-wave connections.

With the arrival of spring, the Theater am Rand will start its new season on 7 March 2026, including the opening of the theatre restaurant Kleine Wirtschaft, which is run by Polish restaurateur Joanna Golab and her staff. With theatre performances, concerts, swap meets, cinema screenings, readings, cabaret and a dialogue lab, guests can look forward to a varied programme in an extraordinary private theatre in the Oderbruch region, right on the German-Polish border in Zollbrücke.

The Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region is not getting off the ground economically at the start of 2026. The latest figures from the economic report of the Berlin and Brandenburg chambers of industry and commerce reveal the structural crisis. At 102 points, the economic climate index is now only slightly above the standstill mark (100 points). Two thirds of companies cite the economic policy framework conditions as the greatest risk to business development.

It is a pressing issue in almost every company: The introduction and use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly becoming part of everyday working life in companies and organisations. For employees, this development is often associated with a sense of threat.

Sixth-grader Myriam Nour Jannah Kassem from Evangelische Grundschule Frankfurt (Oder) is this year's winner of the city-wide reading competition. She came out on top against the winners from the other Frankfurt elementary school. Myriam read from the book she chose herself, "The Destiny" by Veronica Roth.