Berlin as a research location
Berlin has a wealth of job opportunities for academics and researchers. With 18 higher education institutions, Berlin is Germany's biggest university city. Three of the city's four universities are winners in the federal Initiative for Excellence and therefore receive millions in state funding each year.
The Charité within the Humboldt University is Europe's largest medical faculty. Several colleges of art and music provide a platform for subject areas such as design, visual and performing arts, music and drama.
Berlin is also home to research institutions like the Max Planck Institute, including its institutes for human development and infection biology, and the Fraunhofer institutes for telecommunications and for software and systems engineering.
The city's main focus, however, is on cooperation between the worlds of academia and business, especially in the fields of transportation, biotechnology and medical technology, IT and media.
History
Berlin was officially founded in 1237, with the famous bear appearing in the city's heraldry as early as 1280 although not as the main figure. In 1871 Berlin became the capital of the newly founded German Empire for the first time and a centre of academic, commercial and cultural life.
Following Germany's defeat in the Second World War, Berlin was divided into four sections and administered jointly by the four allied powers. While the western sectors of the country became the German Federal Republic in 1949 with Bonn as the capital, Berlin remained the only city through which the border ran and therefore with an east and west part and special Allied status. East Berlin became the capital of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was not until German reunification in 1990 that Berlin became the country's capital once more.
An insight into Berlin's varied history can be obtained by visiting some of the many museums, including the Berlin Wall Museum at Checkpoint Charlie (the best-known former border crossing point between East and West Berlin) or Berlin's Museum Island - a unique ensemble of museum buildings in the heart of Berlin and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.