Northwest Universities Secure Millions in Funding and Pursue Elite Status
Millions funding opportunity for attending prestigious universities in the northwestern region - Large sums of money at stake, potential formation of exclusive alliances in the Northwest region.
Several universities in the Northwest region, including Hannover, Bremen, Oldenburg, and Braunschweig, have received substantial funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the Wissenschaftsrat (WR) under the Excellence Strategy. This funding will allow these universities to plan for the next seven years, as announced in Bonn.
Three of these universities—Leibniz University and the Medical School Hannover, the University of Oldenburg, and the University of Bremen—are eligible to apply as Excellence Universities in the next phase. This is due to having two funded Excellence Clusters as a prerequisite. Lower Saxony's Minister of Science, Falko Mohrs (SPD), praised this development as offering numerous opportunities for Lower Saxony.
The current competition round saw six Lower Saxony-participating research projects selected for funding. Mohrs, appointed at the end of 2022, stated his intention to have at least one Excellence University in Lower Saxony, as no elite institution currently exists there or in Bremen.
The University of Bremen marked a significant success by securing funding for two Excellence Clusters for the first time. mayor Andreas Bovenschulte commended this achievement, describing it as a great success for the city's scientific standing.
Meanwhile, the University of Göttingen experienced disappointment, as its last application in this round was unsuccessful. Wolfgang Brück, speaking for the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), expressed surprise and incomprehension at the decision.
The Excellence Strategy, a joint program of the German federal and state governments, offers universities the opportunity to become "Excellence Universities." The process is highly competitive, involving multiple stages, including gaining funding for one or more Clusters of Excellence and demonstrating a strong strategic vision for research excellence, institutional development, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Universities must first secure funding for at least one, but ideally more, Clusters of Excellence. These are large-scale research projects addressing cutting-edge themes, selected in a rigorous international peer review process. The application for the University of Excellence title is then reviewed by the Excellence Commission, which includes representatives of the federal and state governments and top scientific organizations.
The next application deadline for the University of Excellence label is set for November 2025, with a decision expected in the following spring. The selected universities will then continue to foster top-level research beyond the clusters.
In Lower Saxony, three universities are currently vying for the University of Excellence title, following successful cluster funding decisions. The state government has pledged its support for these universities in their quest for research excellence.
- The community policy should emphasize the importance of vocational training as a key aspect of Lower Saxony's development, considering the ongoing investments in vocational training programs at several Northwest universities.
- The pursuit of elite status by Northwest universities through the Excellence Strategy opens up opportunities for partnerships in education-and-self-development, finance, and science, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and achieving research excellence.
