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Six Universities Added to Ranks of Elite Institutions
Another six German universities have made it into the ranks of the country’s elite institutions of higher education. Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan described the occasion as "a piece of academic history". In the second round of the Joint Federal Government and Länder Initiative for Excellence, the jury selected the following institutions:
Ranking among Germany’s elite universities, they stand to receive funding averaging €21 million a year towards their future concepts for top-class research. In the first round held in 2006, the elite university designation was awarded to Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Technische Universität München (TUM) and Universität Karlsruhe (TH). In addition to the above, special funding will go to some 21 Graduate Schools (18 in 2006) and 20 Excellence Clusters (17 in 2006). This means a total of 28 institutes of higher education will receive additional funding to the tune of €1 billion over the next five years. The selection jury comprises German Research Minister Annette Schavan, the science ministers from the 16 constituent states (Länder) and another 26 scientists from various disciplines. A good day for science and research In her initial response to the jury’s decision, Minister Schavan said, "Today, we have written a piece of academic history. Research conducted at German universities is well on its way to international success. I am convinced that the two rounds of the Initiative for Excellence competition take us a great step further in advancing Germany’s research system.” The minister expressed her pleasure at the fact that smaller universities had held their own in attaining the elite university title. Projects involving the arts and humanities had also been successful. The German government wants to continue and expand the Initiative for Excellence campaign. It is hoped that a new Federal Government-Länder agreement will be in place in 2009. The 2007 Nobel prizes for physics and chemistry awarded to German researchers can only serve to foster efforts in boosting Germany’s research environment. Lighthouses shining beyond national borders The Initiative for Excellence is designed to establish lighthouses of research that attract the best researchers in the face of fierce global competition. Funding amounting to € 1.9 billion has been made available for the period up to 2011. The Federal government will contribute three-quarters of the money. The Initiative for Excellence competition has three project-based funding lines: Graduate schools provide structured post-graduate programmes in top research environments and broad research areas. They each receive an average € 1 million in funding a year. A total of € 40 million has been allocated to promote these schools. Excellence clusters are designed to establish internationally visible and competitive research and education centres at Germany’s universities. They are characterised by their cooperation with non-university research institutes, technical universities and industry. These excellence clusters receive € 6.5 million euros a year, making for an overall annual total of € 195 million. By promoting Future Concepts to foster top-class research at Germany’s universities, the Initiative for Excellence boosts the research profiles of the selected universities. These are awarded the title of top or elite universities. To receive the title they must have at least one excellence cluster, a graduate school and a workable strategy to attain recognition as a ‘Lighthouse of Science and Research’. An annual budget of € 210 million euros has been allocated for this part of the Initiative, with each project standing to receive an average € 21 million. Six billion euros for research and development During the current legislative period, the German government will invest more than € 6 billion in new research and development projects. This puts Germany on track to achieve the Lisbon Strategy goal in 2010 of spending three percent of GDP on research and development. The investment will help ensure that as a land of innovation, Germany will continue to rank among the world’s best. Funding provided under the Initiative for Excellence will also boost the country’s economy. Germany’s High-Technology Strategy thus serves to promote strategic alliances between research and industry. October 25, 2007 Links
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