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On the evening of May 16, 2024, DFG-funded postdocs, their international colleagues and members of the GAIN network were invited to an information evening and network reception in the rooms of 1014: Space for Ideas on Fifth Avenue. This building, a re-purposed turn-of-the-century city mansion directly across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was used by the Goethe-Institut until the beginning of 2015.

More than 60 guests found a wealth of information on research and funding opportunities in Germany and the opportunity to refresh existing contacts and network with each other and with science-related organizations in New York in the villa. In addition to the DFG and GAIN, the partner organizations are primarily the DWIH-NY, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the New York-based liaison offices of German universities. 

The allure of the evening was undoubtedly the combination of an easygoing networking event with the elegant location of 1014, the former home of Ambassador James Gerard. After his time as American ambassador to imperial Germany before the First World War he had the second floor converted for receptions, with a view of the Metropolitan Museum opposite.

The venue was especially representative, considering the themes of the welcoming addresses by the four organizers: Germany is a modern, cosmopolitan country with many opportunities for internationally mobile researchers; German researchers abroad are excellent ambassadors for Germany as a center of science and research; international networks are helpful, and networking events like the one on May 16 combine the pleasant and the useful in an excellent way.