4 1 / 2025 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS

Economist Bettina Rockenbach assumes office as the 28th President

The new President of the Leopoldina , Bettina Rockenbach , is a popular interviewee and in demand as a discussion partner . Ahead of the ceremonial handover of office , the economist answered questions from the media at the Saxony-Anhalt federal state office in Berlin / Germany . Image : Bettina Ausserhofer | Leopoldina

Economist Bettina Rockenbach ML assumed the presidency of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina on 1 March . After 27 presidents , she is the first woman to lead the Academy . Bettina Rockenbach , Member of the Section Economics and Empirical Social Sciences , is Professor of Behavioural Economics at the University of Cologne / Germany and Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn / Germany .

You have announced that you will use your presidency to more effectively integrate scientific discussion in communications with wider society . What new additional ways of achieving this goal are you thinking about ? Bettina Rockenbach : The Leopoldina is already very good at providing science-based advice relating to politics and society and releases numerous statements . However , in the face of multiple crises and major changes to the political landscape in Germany and other countries , we should also consider using new , short-form formats , such as podcasts or factsheets , to reach our target audience , to inform society and politicians , and also provide materials that can be used in schools . Anyone looking for independent and science-based information on a particular topic should be able to find relevant information on the Leopoldina website .

How are these crises and changes affecting Leopoldina ’ s cooperation with its international partners ? Rockenbach : Our international contacts are now more important than ever . It is particularly important in view of the current political situation that the Leopoldina talks to its partner academies about topics such as climate change or global health outside of the political sphere and expresses its views together with them as part of a group of scientific institutions .

A recent example of this kind of “ sci-