In summer 2009 the American Academy in Berlin and Citigroup gave 24 select business students the unique opportunity to participate in the Academy’s first entrepreneurial seminar in hopes of inspiring and creating future decision-makers by engaging in dialogue with internationally renowned business leaders.

Throughout the course of two weekends the students discussed with business leaders the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship. The first weekend seminar was held in Berlin and included workshops with Maurice Thompson, Chairman of Citigroup Global Markets Deutschland AG & Co. KgaA, Christian Schenk, decathlon gold medalist of the Summer Olympics 1988, and a lecture by Harvard University economist Professor Benjamin M. Friedman. The second weekend seminar was held in Frankfurt and included workshops with Fred Irwin, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany and Vice-Chairman of Citigroup Global Markets Deutschland AG & Co. KGaA, David Knower, CEO of Cerberus, and Utz Claassen, Principal Senior Advisor, Cerberus Capital Management Germany, in addition to visits to the European Central Bank and Deutsche Börse.

 

Watch a video of Benjamin Friedman's lecture.

 

 

The Citi Master Class in Effective Entrepreneurship concluded with an essay competition in which the students were asked to answer how they regard the impact of the current economic and financial crisis on their personal and professional development. After reviewing the submissions the Citi Foundation and American Academy in Berlin are proud to announce the winners of the essay competition.

1. Erik Pfannmöller

2. Jan Höllering

3. Roh Pin Lee

The essays can be downloaded by clicking on each winner's name. To receive more information on the program and the essay competition please contact the program’s coordinator, Berit Ebert, or, for press inquiries, Malte Mau.

Support the American Academy

Funding for the American Academy in Berlin is provided almost entirely by private donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. It is private generosity that has enabled the creation and success of this institution over the past dozen years and what will enable us to sustain the level and excellence of our activities throughout the difficult economic times ahead.

You may make tax-deductible donations to the American Academy from the US or from Germany. Please download the donation form here to make your pledge. The Academy’s account information is:

Berliner Sparkasse
Account no. 660 000 9908
BLZ 100 500 00

For further information or to speak with someone regarding support opportunities, please contact Berit Ebert at +49 030 804 830 x109 or be@americanacademy.de.

Thank you for your support.

 

 

Citi Master Class in Effective Entrepreneurship

In summer 2009 the American Academy in Berlin and Citigroup gave 24 select business students the unique opportunity to participate in the Academy’s first entrepreneurial seminar in hopes of inspiring and creating future decision-makers by engaging in dialogue with internationally renowned business leaders. At the end of the seminar students were asked to enter an essay about the economic environment and how it will affect their lives and entrepreneurial endeavors. The best essays of the Citi Master Class in Effective Entrepreneurship have been selected.

To read more about the Citigroup Master Class and to download the winning essays, please click here.

The Fall 2010 Berlin Journal

The fall 2010 issue of the Berlin Journal features Martin Indyk on President Obama’s foreign policy; an early draft of Rivka Galchen’s opening to her novel Atmospheric Disturbances; James Wood on atheism in the modern novel; original photographs by Camilo José Vergara; H. C. Erik Midelfort on the Enlightenment’s inroads into Protestant Germany; David Gelernter on the “e-book plague”; Todd Gitlin on journalism’s current crisis; Stanley Corngold on the interplay of Kafka’s legal and literary writings; Brigid Cohen on composer Stefan Wolpe’s early advocacy of cross-cultural education; David Abraham on attitudes toward immigration in Germany and the US; and Martin Jay on the intersection, via Marcel Duchamp, of the practice of photography and the medieval philosophical concept of Nominalism.

Print copies magazine are available free of charge in the reception area of the Hans Arnhold Center.

Please click here for more information about the Berlin Journal.

Fall 2010 Program

Highlights of the American Academy’s fall 2010 program include lectures by noted academics Stanley Corngold, Catherine Gallagher, Martin Jay, and Laura Engelstein; Central Asia expert Ahmed Rashid discussing his new book with former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer; readings by New-York based authors John Wray and Han Ong; an inquiry into atheism and the modern novel by James Wood; a lecture-recital by composer/vocalist Ken Ueno; and clusters of events devoted to public policy as well as to the music of Richard Wagner. The fall semester’s visitors and fellows include Robert D. Hormats, US Under Secretary of State for Economic Business, and Agricultural Affairs; Pulitzer-Prize winning journalists Anne Hull and Dana Priest; Columbia University’s president emeritus Michael Sovern; climate policy expert Rosina Bierbaum; and writer and Iraq advocate Kirk Johnson.

Please download the Fall 2010 Program for further details. We look forward to welcoming you to the American Academy’s Hans Arnhold Center. Kindly remember to register in advance at program(at)americanacademy.de.

Unless otherwise noted, all events begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

Press Releases

If your media organization would like to receive regular press releases from the American Academy about its program, current Fellows, and upcoming special events, please contact press(at)americanacademy.de or call the Academy's press department at +49 (0)30-80483-414. You may also fill out an automated form here.

Getting to the American Academy

The American Academy in Berlin is located in Wannsee. S-bahns and regional rail trains run regularly throughout the day. For a map of the area and directions to the American Academy, located Am Sandwerder 17-19, please click here.

American Academy Alumni

The Academy's alumni now number over 300 outstanding scholars, writers, composers, and artists. Browse the Academy's database of past fellows here. For a look at past Distinguished Visitors, please click here.