ENGAGE ADVISORY BOARD 2026
With the Global Call having come to a close, now is the busy period where all the fantastic applications are reviewed! We are very proud to present this year’s Engage Advisory Board, who will play a key role in reviewing Science Engagement projects from around the globe and select the 15 Engage Finalists for 2026. All of them are key players in the Science Engagement community and you can find out more about their work on our website.
From left to right:
Gabriela de la Torre García, General Director, PAUTA, MX
Simone Montano, Associate Professor, University of Milano-Bicocca, IT
Adenike Oladosu, Researcher and Founder, I Lead Climate Action Initiative, NG
Carl Öhman, Associate Professor, Uppsala University, SE
📸 Credit (from left to right): Falling Walls Foundation, Simone Montano, Oladosu Adenike Titilope, Mikael Wallerstedt
The Global Call for Science Breakthroughs 2026 has wrapped, with 2,589 submissions from 1,896 institutions across 134 countries. The jury has their work cut out.
Over the coming months, we'll reveal the shortlists, the finalists, and finally – the Science Breakthroughs of the Year 2026.
Be there when they take the stage in Berlin this November at the Falling Walls Science Summit.
Get your tickets via the link in bio.
🌎This Earth Day, we're sharing a story from Brazil that has a lot to say to Canada.
In 2023, Forest Engineer Nondas Ferreira da Silva founded @instituto.newera in Northern Minas Gerais, a region dealing with land degradation, economic fragility, and the slow unraveling of traditional community systems. His approach: stop separating ecological restoration from economic security, and stop designing conservation programs without the people who actually live on the land.
Two years in, the Xakriabá indigenous people and Geraizeiras communities aren't just participants in this work, they're leading it: collecting seeds, governing their own territories, and passing knowledge between elders and youth.
Last year, Nondas won the @falling_walls Breakthrough of the Year Engage Award for this model.
As Canadians, we're still working out what genuine Indigenous-led land stewardship looks like in policy and practice. Instituto New Era is building something replicable and evidence-based in the Cerrado and we think that’s worth paying attention to.
#EarthDay #EcologicalRestoration #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateAction
In honour of Earth Day, we want to spotlight the 2025 Engage Finalist project BioSmart Women Nepal, co-led by microbiologist Pooja Manandhar. The initiative promotes climate-smart agriculture by integrating biofertilizer production with organic waste and forest biomass management.
BioSmart Women Nepal actively engages women and young people, who are usually excluded from scientific and economic opportunities. Through hands-on training and mentorship, women have become earners, educators, and community leaders, actively influencing agricultural and climate policies.
Pooja’s message this Earth Day is clear: “Restore forests. Revive soil. Empower people.”
Check the link in bio to watch Pooja’s pitch BioSmart Women Nepal at the Falling Walls Science Summit and to learn more about the project.
📷️ Falling Walls Foundation, Pooja Manandhar.
What if the same power plant could generate electricity and act as a giant battery? Reverion built it. Stephan Herrmann and his team at Reverion built a reversible power plant that can generate electricity from gas or hydrogen – and take excess renewable energy and turn it back into green fuel. Learn more about it via the link in bio.
Stephan Herrmann brought Reverion to the Falling Walls Science Summit as a finalist of the Global Call (Science Start-ups category) – taking it from lab to stage. Know a start-up that’s turned science into a real business? Nominate them now through our website!
🗓️ Deadline for the Global Call: 30 April�
Questions about the application process? Join our Open Hour on 22 April and get answers directly from the team – registration link in bio.
Last year, marine scientist Colette Wabnitz took home the Women’s Impact Award for making the invisible visible – women in fisheries who’ve been left out of data, decisions, and policy.
👉Read more about her work in our latest interview via the link in bio.
Colette Wabnitz’s story is one of many that have reached the Falling Walls Science Summit through the Global Call — with more still waiting to be told. Good news: the deadline just got pushed. You now have until 30 April to nominate and apply across multiple categories, including the Women’s Impact Award.
Not sure where to start? Join one of our Open Hours on 22 April to get direct assistance from our team. Registration link in bio.
With the Global Call deadline extended to 30 April, this is your final opportunity to get guidance before it closes. Whether you're nominating someone or applying yourself, join us for a live conversation with the Falling Walls team. We'll help you navigate eligibility, categories, and submissions for all eight categories.
Registration link in bio.
Breakthroughs don't rush, neither should you.
We've extended the Falling Walls Global Call 2026 deadline to 30 April – giving you room to breathe, rethink, and put your best work forward. This is your chance to be named a Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year and showcase your project at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin.
Nominate a leading researcher or apply with your own project now on our website.
Got questions? Join our Open Hour:
📅 22 April, 9–10am CET
📅 22 April, 5–6pm CET
Registration link in bio.
𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝘂𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗚𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 $𝟱 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻
Tubulis reached a definitive agreement with Gilead Sciences for the acquisition of their company for a total of $5 billion to merge their technologies in the #ADC field.
In the past years, Tubulis pushed the boundaries of ADC design to deliver the full potential of the modality to more patients. They will now continue to operate as a dedicated ADC organisation within Gilead, with their Munich site serving as a hub for ADC innovation, building on its integrated discovery, manufacturing and clinical capabilities to advance next‑generation antibody‑drug conjugates.
We congratulate Dominik Schuhmacher and the whole Tubulis team to this incredible milestone and are proud to have had Dominik on stage as a finalist at our pitch competition Falling Walls Venture in 2022! Read more about Dominik's experience in our recent interview (link in bio).
The Global Call for Science Breakthroughs is still open. Get your startup nominated and join the successful legacy of Tubulis and other Falling Walls Venture alumni! Check our website for more details.
Do you know or work with start-ups in the advanced materials sector? Nominate them! Together with @schott_ag , we’re looking for start-ups that are exploring pioneering material solutions.
SCHOTT is a leading global manufacturer of advanced materials such as specialty glass and is constantly exploring new material solutions. Their mission closely connects to the breakthrough potential that we’re looking for at Falling Walls Venture.
We’re interested in teams turning solid research into real products — whether that’s advanced glass, novel materials or smarter ways of manufacturing. Past finalists have done just that, taking their ideas from the lab to a pitch on stage at the Falling Walls Science Summit.
👉 Do you know or work with such a start-up? Nominate them for the Falling Walls Global Call for Science Breakthroughs and help bring their work to a global audience via the link in bio
📸 : SCHOTT, Falling Walls Foundation
If you know a woman* in science whose work is breaking down barriers, or if that woman is you, now is the time to step forward.
The Women’s Impact Award, part of the Falling Walls Global Call for Science Breakthroughs 2026, is looking for pioneering researchers who embed gender equity into their work and whose leadership is reshaping science and society.
Together with the Elsevier Foundation, we are seeking researchers whose work integrates gender equity into its design, methodology or outcomes — and whose leadership helps dismantle structural barriers in science and society. Selected awardees will be celebrated on the international stage at the Falling Walls Science Summit.
Applications and nominations are open until 15 April 2026, check the link in bio.
📸: Ole Spata
*We welcome applications and nominations from cis and trans women, genderqueer and non-binary researchers.
#GlobalCall #ScienceBreakthroughs
When you nominate a deserving colleague or project for the Falling Walls Global Call, you're not just helping great science get noticed. Nominators of finalists in the Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Social Sciences & Humanities, and Art & Science categories will receive a complimentary ticket to the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin (6–9 November 2026).
Who can nominate?
Universities, research centres, companies, foundations, and individuals from around the world.
Deadline: 15 April 2026.
Nominate a breakthrough today via the link in bio.
