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Portal – One 2025: “Children”

Free play, imagination, curiosity, the pleasure of learning, and intense emotions such as joy or anger, as well as feelings of lightheartedness and timelessness, make childhood special – if not irretrievable. In this issue of the university magazine, we let scientists who study childhood share their insights. Whether in psychology, parenting, politics, language, education, literature, or sports, they discuss from different perspectives what children need to thrive, what their freedoms and rights are, and how we can protect them in an increasingly complex world.

Cover story “Children”

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Of Children and Their Parents

Developmental Psychologist Birgit Elsner and Education Scientist Nina Kolleck talk about childhood.

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Inside the Protestant Elementary School in Potsdam-Babelsberg.
Photo: Matthias Zimmermann

All Power to the Children

Why politics is already important for the very young

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The US-American researcher Sudha Arunachalam
Photo: Thomas Roese

The Subtle Differences

Visiting researcher Sudha Arunachalam about linguistic research on infants

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Hindernissparkour auf einem Spielplatz. Im Hintergrund sind Kinder zu sehen.
Photo: AdobeStock/matimix

The Joy of Movement

How EMOTIKON examines children’s fitness

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Katharina Scheiter während des Interviews.
Photo: Thomas Roese

Not Falling for Fake News

Psychologist Katharina Scheiter explains how to prepare children for dealing with media.

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A mountain made of books. There is a tree at the top.
Photo: AdobeStock/Jorm Sangsorn

Can Reading Give Us a Better Understanding of Nature?

Literary scholar Sabine Röttig researches ecological children’s literature.

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Studies

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Paulina Nitschke guides the georadar sled across the ground.
Photo: Dr. Stefanie Mikulla

Looking Beneath the Surface

Geophysicists and students from the University of Potsdam are searching for traces of a Jewish cemetery in Lenzen, Brandenburg.

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18-year-old Anna Maria Weiß
Photo: Nura van Dongen

Career Aspiration: Astrophysicist

Potsdam student Anna Maria Weiß has discovered a planet.

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Four students in the University of Potsdam building.
Photo: Ernst Kaczynski

“I’d Rather Attend Lectures in the Afternoon Than Watch Netflix”

The Junior Studies Program attracts high school students from Berlin and Brandenburg to the University of Potsdam.

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Dr. Andreas Heißel during the interview.
Photo: Thomas Roese

Am I Okay?

Andreas Heißel researches students’ mental health.

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Timilehin Ogunnusi (li.) und Pascal Kienast bringen sich ins EDUC Think Lab ein.
Photo: Thomas Roese

Strengthening a Sense of Belonging

In the EDUC Think Lab, Students Develop Digital Tools for the European University Alliance.

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Der Musikdozent Jan Gerdes erkundet mit seinen Studierenden afrikanische Klaviermusik des 20. Jahrhunderts.
Photo: Thomas Roese

A Sound Window With a View to the South

Pianist and music lecturer Jan Gerdes brings contemporary piano music from Africa to the lecture hall.

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Research

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Spokespersons of the University Research Focuses and Emerging Fields receive their certificates at the beginning of the new funding period.
Photo: Dr. Silke Engel

Profiled

New Research Focuses of the University of Potsdam

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Prof. Dr. Salim Seyfried and doctoral student Van-Cuong Pham in the lab.
Photo: Thomas Roese

Did you already know that … a pill could prevent strokes in the future?

Researchers find compounds against cavernous malformation in the brain.

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Portrait of Prof. Dr. Dieter Neher
Photo: Thomas Roese

Solar Cells: The Next Generation

A visit to the laboratory of physicist Dieter Neher

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Physicist Felix Lang holds a solar cell.
Photo: Tobias Hopfgarten

What is a solar cell doing in space?

Physicist Dr. Felix Lang and his “Freigeist” Junior Research Group are developing solar cells from “flexible” perovskites.

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/headlines-and-featured-stories/detail/2025-05-27-33-questions-to-educational-researcher-and-political-scientist-nina-kolleck
Prof. Dr. Nina Kolleck in her office.
Photo: Thomas Roese

33 Questions ...

...  to Educational Researcher and Political Scientist Nina Kolleck

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/headlines-and-featured-stories/detail/2025-05-22-poetics-of-listening-jenny-haase-the-new-professor-of-romance-studies-is-interested-in
Portrait of Jenny Haase
Photo: Nura van Dongen

Poetics of Listening

Jenny Haase, the new Professor of Romance studies, is interested in Latin American voices that have so far been rarely heard.

Society

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Bust of David admiring himself in a mirror on a pink background. Symbolic representation of narcissism.
Photo: AdobeStock/splitov27

“Narcissism Has Many Faces”

Dr. Ramzi Fatfouta on the unknown aspects of a personality trait

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Dr. Johannes Gurke
Photo: Kevin Ryl

Illuminating

Johannes Gurke “Builds” New Materials for Medical Technologies with Light and 3D Printing.

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/headlines-and-featured-stories/detail/2025-06-10-with-humility-and-diplomacy-alumnus-benjamin-weber-is-sporting-director-at-hertha-bsc
Benjamin Weber in the Olympic Stadium.
Photo: Hertha BSC City Press

With Humility and Diplomacy

Alumnus Benjamin Weber is Sporting Director at Hertha BSC

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/headlines-and-featured-stories/detail/2025-06-17-teaching-children-maybe-it-is-the-same-all-over-the-world-syrian-teacher-entis
Entisar Karkoli in front of a blackboard.
Photo: Antje Horn-Conrad

“Teaching Children – Maybe It Is the Same All Over the World”

Syrian teacher Entisar Karkokli teaches at an elementary school in Wittenberge.

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/headlines-and-featured-stories/detail/2025-06-19-a-scholarship-for-almost-every-life-situation-dr-constantin-von-koeckritz-and-marc-re
Constantin von Köckwitz (left) and Marc Repey.
Photo: Sandra Cava

A Scholarship for (almost) every life situation

Dr. Constantin von Köckritz and Marc Repey support law student Max Bense.

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/headlines-and-featured-stories/detail/2025-06-24-the-long-term-memory-of-a-society-the-potsdam-university-archive-preserves-histori
Ralf Müller (right) in the University Archive.
Photo: Thomas Roese

“The Long-Term Memory of a Society”

The Potsdam University Archive Preserves Historical Documents and Works of Art.

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/headlines-and-featured-stories/detail/2025-06-05-self-narratives-and-traces-of-upheaval-melanie-franke-widens-the-view-for-art-history-an
View into the showroom
Photo: Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / David von Becker

Self-Narratives and Traces of Upheaval

Melanie Franke Widens the View for Art History and Narratives from the GDR.

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Ulrike Demske during the interview.
Photo: Nura van Dongen

Goden Dach, wie gait di dat?

An online catalog at the University of Potsdam makes the surviving vocabulary of Brandenburg’s dialects publicly accessible

https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/headlines-and-featured-stories/detail/2025-07-01-fencing-like-in-the-middle-ages-schildwache-potsdam-teaches-students-historical-ma
Coach Melissa Kleiß and Dr. Stephan Eickelmann of “Schildwache Potsdam”.
Photo: Kevin Ryl

Fencing like in the Middle Ages

“Schildwache Potsdam” teaches students historical martial arts

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