“Science is a team sport”

There are moments you never forget. I experienced one such moment during my last few months in the U.S., when ICE officers detained an employee from India. He didn’t have his papers with him because he had submitted them a few days earlier to apply for his Green Card. For half a day, no one knew where he was. When he later came into my office, he said, “Martin, I can’t take it here anymore.” 

That sentence still haunts me today because it shows how quickly a social climate can change and how fundamental democratic values—which we have hitherto taken for granted—are at risk of crumbling. 

Human dignity is inviolable. That is why, in these times, it is more important than ever to talk about diversity. It concerns the foundation of our social coexistence, which also plays a crucial role in science. Breakthroughs do not occur when everyone thinks alike, but when different experiences, perspectives, and life realities come together. Thiscross-cutting mindset applies not only to research teams but also to research operations, which make science possible in the first place, such as the planning of the next generation of research infrastructures.

We must all ensure that people of different ages and genders, as well as those with diverse cultural backgrounds and life stories, can contribute their perspectives. To achieve this, we need trust and structures that protect against discrimination, enable participation, and break down barriers—for international colleagues as well as for people with disabilities, caregiving responsibilities, neurodivergence, or different social backgrounds. For this reason, we must continually ask ourselves: How do we build trust? How do we protect people from exclusion? How do we ensure that everyone can truly participate? Where is this already working, and where do we need to improve? 

In recent years, we have launched various initiatives and funding programs to address these important issues strategically. As part of the Diversity Funding Initiative, we have been supporting several Helmholtz Centers since 2023 in making their processes more diversity-sensitive and further developing them. Another example is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Network, which creates space within the Helmholtz Association for exchange, consultation, and collaborative learning. Through the Helmholtz Distinguished Professorship and the First Appointment Program, we also support female scientists at different stages of their careers. Ultimately, however, all these measures only make a difference if we have the right mindset. I am convinced that Helmholtz’s greatest strength lies in its cross-cutting mindset.

Especially now, when openness and diversity are under pressure in other parts of the world, we should clearly demonstrate what we stand for at Helmholtz: a scientific culture in which people are respected, welcomed, and able to contribute their perspectives. I always say that science is a team sport. So let’s all work together to ensure that this culture is tangible in our daily lives—so that no one has to come to us and say, “I can’t take it here anymore.”