The Former Federal President Gains Insights into Cutting-Edge Research in Jena
Jena | October 22, 2026
As part of the St. Michael’s Movement, former Federal President Christian Wulff visited the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF yesterday at the invitation of the St. Michael’s Church Foundation. The visit focused on Jena’s potential as a hub for science and high-tech innovation. In addition to a technical exchange, the guests at Fraunhofer IOF also gained insights into current research in the field of quantum communication.
Getting to know Jena as an internationally significant science and high-tech hub: That was the focus of former Federal President Christian Wulff’s visit to the Fraunhofer IOF today. In discussions with representatives from science, business, and politics, the former Federal President learned about the successful development of Jena as a center for optics and the institute’s current research activities. The occasion for the visit was this year’s St. Michael’s Festival, for which the St. Michael Church Foundation had invited Christian Wulff to Jena.
One of the central themes of the visit was how Jena succeeded in developing into an internationally recognized center for optics and photonics following the profound transitions of the 1990s. The close collaboration between research, industry, politics, and society played a decisive role in this.
“In the early 1990s, Jena as a center for optics faced existential challenges. Through close collaboration between science, business, politics, and civil society, the city has succeeded over the past decades in reinventing itself and, building on excellent research, tapping into new markets with innovative products,” explained Prof. Dr. Andreas Tünnermann, director of the Fraunhofer IOF.
The ability to engage in strategic cooperation remains a key strength of Jena to this day and is also an important prerequisite for its future development. “I am very pleased to welcome former Federal President Christian Wulff to our institute, to share our experiences with him regarding regional development, and to jointly develop ideas on how Jena can serve as a role model for other science and technology hubs in Germany,” said Tünnermann.
In a joint roundtable discussion, the participants discussed Jena’s development as a science and high-tech hub, as well as the importance of close collaboration between academia and industry.
In addition to Christian Wulff and Andreas Tünnermann, participants included Dr. Franz von Falkenhausen, Chairman of the St. Michael Church Foundation in Jena, Jena’s Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche, Thuringia’s State Secretary for Science and Culture Prof. Dr. Steffen Teichert, former ZEISS CEO Prof. Dr. Michael Kaschke, the Scientific Director of the German Museum of Optics, Prof. Dr. Timo Mappes, and the Chief Financial Officer of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Justus Wehmer, in the discussion.
The former Federal President expressed his admiration for Fraunhofer IOF’s scientific achievements and the close integration of excellent research and entrepreneurial innovative strength among the stakeholders at the Jena site.
Following the roundtable discussion, the guests were given a glimpse into the current research at Fraunhofer IOF. To this end, they toured the Optical Ground Station (OGS) on the roof of the institute’s new research building, which was inaugurated this year.
The ground station serves as a test environment for free-space optical and quantum communication. It enables researchers to establish high-precision optical connections—for example, to satellites and aircraft—and to test new technologies under conditions that closely resemble real-world scenarios. A particular research focus is on satellite-based quantum communication. In the future, this is expected to form an important foundation for the development of global quantum networks and open up new possibilities for data transmission that is practically tamper-proof.
Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF