On 29 and 30 September 2025, the management teams of the KIT Centres met for their annual closed-door meeting – this time at the Schneefernerhaus on the Zugspitze. After a detailed insight into the research activities there, the focus was on reflections on the goals and strategies as well as the diversity development of the KIT centres, event planning for 2026 and the preparation of a joint AI workshop in October 2026.

Background information on the Schneefernerhaus:

The Schneefernerhaus is Germany's highest environmental research station at 2,650 metres above sea level and is now part of a virtual institute in which the DLR, the German Weather Service, the Federal Environment Agency and KIT, among others, conduct joint research.

Here, measurement data on trace gases, cloud dynamics, permafrost and high-altitude climate are collected – often far away from the disruptive influences of lower atmospheric layers. In particular, the Schneefernerhaus is part of the atmospheric observatory that KIT also operates on the Zugspitze and in Garmisch.

You can find out more about the Schneefernerhaus and its connection to KIT here: https://schneefernerhaus.de/