Nobel Laureate Meetings at Lindau - Aim and Structure

Aim and Structure

The aim of the Lindau Meetings is to foster the interactions between Nobel Laureates and young researchers. Typical meetings are attended by around 30 laureates and on the order of 600 young researchers. The predominant types of events are presentations given by the laureates in the framework of plenary sessions, and seminars, closed meetings between laureates and young scientists, throughout the afternoon. Additional formats include panel discussions, scientific breakfast meetings. Social events include a Bavarian evening sponsored by the Free State of Bavaria, concerts, Academic Dinners organized by organizations such as the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Research Foundation, and the Max Planck Society, and an International Get-Together with varying sponsorship; for instance, in 2012, the get-together was sponsored by the Republic of Singapore.

In 2011, the format of "Science Master Classes" was introduced, following a suggestion by Roger Tsien, in which young scientists present their work and discuss it with both their peers and a laureate.

The opening of each meeting is a festive occasion that includes further guests of honour, typically science ministers from Germany or abroad, other government representatives, or representatives of scientific institutions or science-related foundations. For instance, the 2011 meeting included Bill Gates as part of a discussion touching on the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The last day of the meeting features a joint boat ride from Lindau on the invitation of the State of Baden-Württemberg across Lake Constance to the island of Mainau, the seat of the Bernadotte family, where there is a final panel discussions in the grounds of the castle.

Some of the events, such as the plenary sessions in which the laureates give their presentations, are accessible not only to the young researchers, but also to the media and to selected guests. The group sessions that are meant to provide the most direct interactions are closed to anybody but the laureates and the young researchers.

Plenary talks by the laureates can be about science related to their Nobel prize, about current scientific topics they find interesting, or about related topics such as science communication and the interaction between science and society. Often, a personal perspective - such as a laureate's career, their path to the Nobel prize, and corresponding advice to the young researchers - forms part of the presentation. The laureates are free in their choice of topic, and it has been criticized that some of them use the platform given to them to present questionable ideas outside the mainstream of science.

The meetings rotate between the three Nobel science prizes chemistry, physics, and physiology/medicine. Every five years there are meetings uniting laureates from all three branches. Since 2004, there are additional meetings for economics, which take place every three years.

The selection of the young researchers that attend each Lindau meeting is made in cooperation with the meeting's academic partners. Participants are nominated by more than 100 institutions from more than 30 countries; some are also nominated by specific Nobel laureates. Nominating institutions include scientific academies, such as the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic or the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, foundations such as the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation or the Nobel Foundation, research councils such as the National Science Council or the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, companies such as Microsoft Corporation or Siemens AG, and research institutes and universities such as the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Humboldt University of Berlin or Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

2012 was the first meeting where selected teachers were admitted as participants. The teachers had been selected as being particularly active in communicating science to their pupils.

The participating young researchers claim that the informal atmosphere and the intensive peer-to-peer contact provides a unique experience, while the organisers consider it crucial to both aims, scientific exchange and inspiration of junior scientists. In addition to these principal aims of scientific exchange and inspiration, the Lindau Meetings offer a unique occasion to follow closely the development of sciences and the advancement of knowledge to the benefit of mankind.