INNOVATE GERMANY is guided by a distinguished Advisory Board that plays a vital role in shaping the vision, academic quality, and international standards of the olympiad.
Comprised of academics, researchers, educators, and professionals from various disciplines, the Advisory Board provides strategic guidance on competition structure, evaluation criteria, and educational objectives. Their expertise ensures that INNOVATE GERMANY maintains high academic integrity while fostering innovation, sustainability, ethics, and creativity.
Working in collaboration with national and international partners, the board supports the development of an inclusive, forward-looking, and globally relevant olympiad. Further details about our Advisory Board members will be announced soon.
About Scientific Advisory Board Member Kirsten Burmester
Kirsten Burmester, born in 1967, is a scientific advisory board member of the MINT competition Innovate Germany. After completing her schooling in the working-class Berlin district of Gropiusstadt, she began her diploma studies in Biology at the Free University of Berlin in 1986. During her studies, she spent time in Southeast Asia, completing a six-month study stay in Malaysia from 1992 to 1993. Through extensive fieldwork in Kinabalu National Park, she deepened her expertise and advanced the completion of her diploma thesis. After successfully graduating and obtaining the academic degree of Diplom-Biologin, she began her teaching career in the Berlin education system in 1997.
In 2010, her professional path led her to the Campus Wilhelmstadtschulen, where she has been teaching biology to grades 7–13 for over 15 years. In addition, she is involved in the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of the MSA and Abitur examinations.
As the school profile became increasingly refined and a stronger focus was placed on MINT subjects, she played a key role in driving these developments forward. A primary focus of her work has been encouraging student participation in the Jugend forscht competitions. Since 2016, Kirsten Burmester has supervised more than 51 student research projects. Her dedication was recognized in 2017 with the “Special Award for Committed Talent Promoters.” In 2020, one of the student projects she supervised earned her school the Jugend forscht School Award—a success that was repeated in 2022. In the same year, the competition jury also honored her with the Supervisor Award.
Since 2025, she has regularly participated with student groups in international competitions and Olympiads in the United Kingdom and Lithuania. In a video interview, she reaffirmed her long-term commitment to Campus Wilhelmstadtschulen and expressed her intention to further strengthen MINT education through her involvement with Innovate Germany.