The Berlin Festival of Lights took place for the first time in 2005 and is one of the best-known lighting festivals in the world. At this year's Festival of Lights, the high-rise building of the Technical University (Telefunken Tower) as one of Berlin's tallest buildings was part of the projection for the first time. From 5 to 14 October, the projection above Ernst-Reuter Platz showed microscopic structures from the university's laboratories, with scientific data presented from an artistic perspective. The Chilean artist Michelle Letelier used research results from protein and photosynthesis research. In the joint projection of the SFB 1078 and "lab:present", a teaching and research project for science communication at the TU Berlin, a manganese cluster was shown.

On 5 October, the event began with a vernissage, music and photo exhibitions in the foyer of the architectural building of the TU Berlin. The participating scientists also gave an introduction to the fascinating world of proteins in plants and mammals.