Excellence strategy
The Excellence Strategy is a federal and state funding program to sustainably strengthen top-level research and the international competitiveness of German universities, which was adopted in 2016 as a successor to the Excellence Initiative. From 2018, the federal and state governments will provide a total of 533 million euros annually for the Excellence Strategy, of which 385 million euros for the first funding line of the Excellence Clusters and 148 million euros for the second funding line of the Universities of Excellence. The funds are borne by the federal government and the respective host states in a ratio of 75:25.
aims
The goals of the excellence strategy are defined in the administrative agreement between the federal government and the states in accordance with Article 91b paragraph 1 of the Basic Law for the Promotion of Top Research at Universities - "Excellence Strategy":
- Sustainable strengthening of Germany as a science location by improving its international competitiveness
- Strengthening the universities through the promotion of scientific excellence, profile building and cooperation in the science system
- Training of peak performance in research and raising the quality of Germany as a university and science location across the board
The International Commission for the Evaluation of the Excellence Initiative (so-called Imboden Commission) was of the unanimous opinion that the successor program of the Excellence Initiative had to be even more consistent with its central goal, namely to strengthen top-level research in Germany and improve the international competitiveness of the universities as the central sponsors of the research system take into focus. In view of the limited resources, it should not weaken its effectiveness by mixing it with other goals, however justified and urgent.
Funding lines
The Excellence Strategy comprises two funding lines that build on one another: Clusters of Excellence and Universities of Excellence.
Cluster of Excellence
With the “Clusters of Excellence” internationally competitive research fields at universities or university associations are funded on a project-by-project basis. Scientists from various disciplines and institutions work together on a research project in the Clusters of Excellence. The funding gives them the opportunity to concentrate intensively on their research goal, to train young scientists and to recruit top international talent. Universities with clusters of excellence can also apply for a “university flat rate” as a strategy allowance to strengthen their organization and strategic direction. Clusters of Excellence are funded for a period of seven years. A second funding period of seven years is possible. The funding line is advertised regularly every seven years.
Universities of Excellence
The “Universities of Excellence” funding line serves to strengthen universities or a network of universities as an institution and to expand their international top position in research on the basis of successful clusters of excellence. In order to be able to apply as universities of excellence, universities must have applied for at least two, and as university associations, at least three clusters of excellence. Universities of Excellence receive permanent funding, but must review the funding requirements every seven years. This means that the Universities of Excellence must regularly compete with new applications every seven years to successfully acquire the number of Clusters of Excellence necessary for funding.
Procedure
The German Research Foundation (DFG) carries out the procedure for the funding line of the Clusters of Excellence and the Science Council (WR ) carries out the procedure for the funding line of the Universities of Excellence.
The final funding decisions are made by the Excellence Commission, which consists of a scientific committee of experts and the federal and state ministers responsible for science, in a "two-stage, competitive and science-driven" process. The panel of experts consists of 39 internationally recognized experts who are proposed jointly by the Senate of the DFG and the Scientific Commission of the Science Council and appointed by the Joint Science Conference (GWK). The Excellence Commission decides on the funding of Clusters of Excellence and Universities of Excellence based on the recommendations of the Expert Committee. In the Excellence Commission, scientists have a majority with 39 votes (the voting members of the expert committee each have one vote) compared to politics with 32 votes (the ministers of the federal states each have one vote, the federal minister sixteen).
A simple majority of the votes cast is required for decisions by the Excellence Commission on clusters of excellence. A double majority is required for decisions on Universities of Excellence: a simple majority of the votes cast by the members of the expert panel and a majority of at least 25 votes by the federal and state ministers.
First round of tenders for the Excellence Strategy
Result
The first round of calls for the Excellence Strategy began in September 2016 with the call for proposals for the two funding lines Clusters of Excellence and Universities of Excellence. The universities were requested to submit draft proposals for clusters of excellence by April 3, 2017. On September 28, 2017, the panel of experts, made up of international scientists, selected a total of 88 projects from 195 sketches for clusters of excellence. Applications for Clusters of Excellence had to be submitted by February 21, 2018. After another scientific assessment, the Excellence Commission selected a total of 57 applications from 34 universities on September 27, 2018 for funding for seven years from January 1, 2019.
With the funding decision in the first funding line, the application round for the second funding line was also opened. The universities or university associations had to submit their applications by December 10, 2018. Between January and May 2019, site visits were made to the 17 individual universities and 2 associations. Approx. 12 (individual universities) or 14 (alliances) scientific reviewers and 4 members of each panel of experts were present. Together with the respective reviewers and the members of the expert committee present, the Science Council prepared an English-language summary of the assessment, which was the basis for the German-language assessment reports. The panel of experts then made a comparative assessment of the applications with a total of 39 recognized scientists based on the scientific evaluation and submitted a proposal for a decision to the expert commission.
On July 19, the expert commission announced the final funding decision on the basis of the science-led selection process and selected ten universities and a university network that will be funded as a university of excellence on a permanent basis from November 1, 2019.
Cluster of Excellence
Of the 88 funding applications from 41 universities in the Cluster of Excellence funding line, 57 Clusters of Excellence at 34 universities were selected for funding on September 27, 2018. Funding has been running since January 1, 2019, initially for seven years; if the application is successful, the funding period can be extended by a further seven years. A total of around 385 million euros in funding is planned annually.
Originally, “45 to 50 clusters of excellence, each with an annual volume of 3 to 10 million euros” were planned in the funding line. According to media reports, Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek, together with state representatives in the decision-making committee, ensured that eleven of twelve applications that were classified as restricted applications by the expert committee were included in the funding. These clusters of excellence are particularly located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg. The funding remained at the previously determined 385 million euros, which means that the successful clusters of excellence receive an average of 26% fewer funds.
In the media coverage, the successes of the Universities of Bonn (six successful applications, four of which as the applicant institution) and Hamburg (four successful applications) were highlighted. Said Jan-Martin Wiarda designated in the time campus , the number of successful applications of the University of Bonn as "sensational good result, which has been acknowledged throughout with appreciation". Anna-Lena Scholz also commented on the results of the two universities in the Zeit Campus: "Both [universities of Hamburg and Bonn] have now shown that universities of excellence do not fall from the sky, but can be achieved hard and strategically."
| Grant number | Applicant institution | Title of the Cluster of Excellence |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Berlin University Alliance: Free University of Berlin , Humboldt University of Berlin and Technical University of Berlin | Science of Intelligence (SCIoI) |
| 2004 | University of Cologne | Matter and Light for Quantum Information (ML4Q) |
| 2008 | Berlin University Alliance: Free University of Berlin , Humboldt University of Berlin and Technical University of Berlin | Unifying Concepts in Catalysis |
| 2020 | Berlin University Alliance: Free University of Berlin , Humboldt University of Berlin and Technical University of Berlin | Temporal Communities. Literature as Practice in a Global Perspective |
| 2023 | Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen | Internet of Production (IoP) |
| 2025 | Berlin University Alliance: Free University of Berlin , Humboldt University of Berlin and Technical University of Berlin | Matters of Activity. Image space material |
| 2026 | Justus Liebig University Giessen / Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main | Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI) |
| 2030 | University of Cologne | CECAD - Excellent in Aging Research |
| 2033 | Ruhr-University Bochum | RESOLV (Ruhr Explores Solvation) |
| 2035 | University of Konstanz | The political dimension of inequality: perceptions, participation and policies |
| 2036 | University of Bonn | Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS) |
| 2037 | University of Hamburg | Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS) |
| 2044 | Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster | Mathematics Münster: Dynamics - Geometry - Structure |
| 2046 | Berlin University Alliance: Free University of Berlin , Humboldt University of Berlin and Technical University of Berlin | MATH +: Berlin Mathematics Research Center |
| 2047 | University of Bonn | Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) |
| 2048 | Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf / University of Cologne | CEPLAS - Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences |
| 2049 | Berlin University Alliance: Free University of Berlin , Humboldt University of Berlin and Technical University of Berlin | NeuroCure |
| 2050 | Technical University Dresden | Center for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI) |
| 2051 | Friedrich Schiller University Jena | Balance of the Microverse |
| 2052 | University of Bayreuth | Africa Multiple: Reconfiguring African Studies |
| 2055 | Berlin University Alliance: Free University of Berlin , Humboldt University of Berlin and Technical University of Berlin | Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS) |
| 2056 | University of Hamburg | CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter |
| 2060 | Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster | Religion and politics. Dynamics of tradition and innovation |
| 2064 | Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen | Machine Learning: New Perspectives for Science |
| 2067 | Georg-August-University Goettingen | Multiscale bioimaging: from molecular machines to networks of excitable cells |
| 2068 | Technical University Dresden | Physics of Life - The Dynamic Organization of Living Matter (PoL) |
| 2070 | University of Bonn | PhenoRob - Robotics and Phenotyping for Sustainable Crop Production |
| 2075 | University of Stuttgart | Data-Integrated Simulation Science (SimTech) |
| 2077 | University of Bremen | The ocean floor - unexplored interface of the earth |
| 2082 | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology / Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg | 3D Matter Made to Order (3DMM2O) |
| 2089 | Technical University of Munich / Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich | e-conversion |
| 2092 | Ruhr-University Bochum | Cyber security in the age of large-scale attackers (CASA) |
| 2094 | Technical University of Munich / Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich | ORIGINS: From the origin of the universe to the first building blocks of life |
| 2111 | Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich / Technical University of Munich | Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST) |
| 2117 | University of Konstanz | Research College Collective Behavior |
| 2118 | Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz | Precision Physics, Fundamental Interactions and Structure of Matter (PRISMA +) |
| 2120 | University of Stuttgart | Integrative computer-based planning and building for architecture |
| 2121 | University of Hamburg | Quantum Universe |
| 2122 | Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hanover | PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, and Engineering - Innovation Across Disciplines |
| 2123 | Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hanover / Technical University of Braunschweig | QuantumFrontiers - light and matter at the quantum frontier |
| 2124 | Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen | Control of Microorganisms to Fight Infection (CMFI) |
| 2126 | Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn / University of Cologne | ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy |
| 2145 | Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich / Technical University of Munich | Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy) |
| 2147 | Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg / Technical University of Dresden | Complexity and Topology in Quantum Materials (CT.QMAT) |
| 2150 | Christian Albrechts University in Kiel | ROOTS - Social, Environmental, and Cultural Connectivity in Past Societies |
| 2151 | University of Bonn | ImmunoSensation2 - the immune sensory system |
| 2154 | Ulm University / Karlsruhe Institute of Technology | POLiS - Post Lithium Storage |
| 2155 | Hannover Medical School | RESIST - Resolving Infection Susceptibility |
| 2163 | Technical University of Braunschweig | Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation - SE²A |
| 2167 | Christian Albrechts University in Kiel | Precision Medicine for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (PMI) |
| 2176 | University of Hamburg | Understanding Written Artefacts |
| 2177 | Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg / Hannover Medical School / Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hannover | Hearing4all |
| 2180 | Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen | Individualization of tumor therapies through molecular imaging and functional identification of therapeutic target structures (iFIT) |
| 2181 | Heidelberg University | STRUCTURES: Emergence in nature, mathematics and complex data |
| 2186 | Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen | The Fuel Science Center - Adaptive Conversion Systems for Renewable Energy and Carbon Sources |
| 2189 | Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg | CIBSS - Center for Integrative Biological Signaling Studies |
| 2193 | Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg | Living, adaptive and energy-autonomous material systems (livMatS) |
Universities of Excellence
On July 19, 2019, eleven "funding cases" (total from university associations and individual universities) were selected from the applicant universities as Universities of Excellence:
| Name of the university (alphabetically by location) | Title of the application |
|---|---|
| Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen | The Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Science and Technology. Knowledge. Impact. Networks. |
| Berlin University Alliance: Free University of Berlin , Humboldt University of Berlin and Technical University of Berlin | Crossing Boundaries toward an Integrated Research Environment |
| University of Bonn | WE invest in people - WE foster networks - WE create impact |
| Technical University Dresden | TUD 2028 - Synergy and beyond |
| University of Hamburg | A Flagship University: Innovating and Cooperating for a Sustainable Future |
| Heidelberg University | The Comprehensive Research University Heidelberg: The Future since 1386 |
| Karlsruher Institute for Technology | The Research University in the Helmholtz Association: Living the Change |
| University of Konstanz | University of Konstanz - creative.together |
| Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich | LMUexcellent - A New Perspective |
| Technical University of Munich | TUM. The Entrepreneurial University - Innovation by Talents, Excellence, and Responsibility |
| Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen | Research - Relevance - Responsibility: Open to New Challenges and a Global Scope of Action |
The University of Cologne lost its title of University of Excellence, which it was able to achieve in the last third round of the Excellence Initiative with the start of funding in 2012. The KIT, which left in the last selection process in 2012, was able to regain its status. The universities of Bonn and Hamburg are taking part for the first time. The University of Bremen, which was funded with a future concept in 2012, was eliminated from the preselection this time.
Since almost all universities included in the Excellence Strategy had applied for the maximum amount of funding of 15 million euros, the application sums were adjusted by an average of around 17.5 percent in order to comply with the total upper limit of 148 million euros. The remaining maximum funding amount of 12.89 million euros per year was awarded to RWTH Aachen University and the universities of Bonn, Dresden, Heidelberg and Konstanz; the Berlin Excellence Network comes to an annual grant of 24 million euros, which the participating universities share among themselves.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Announcement of the administrative agreement between the federal government and the states in accordance with Article 91b paragraph 1 of the Basic Law for the Promotion of Top Research at Universities - “Excellence Strategy” -. October 19, 2016, accessed November 13, 2019 .
- ↑ International Expert Commission for the Evaluation of the Excellence Initiative - Final Report. January 2016, accessed November 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Excellence strategy of the federal and state governments. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
- ↑ Cluster of Excellence funding line: Complete list of the projects requested for application. Retrieved November 13, 2019 .
- ↑ List of ongoing clusters of excellence (ExStra). Retrieved November 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Interactive map with the funded Clusters of Excellence and Universities of Excellence. Retrieved November 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Decisions in the Excellence Strategy: Excellence Commission selects 57 Clusters of Excellence. German Research Foundation, accessed December 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Cluster of Excellence funding line - information sheet. German Research Foundation, accessed December 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Crowns for many. ZEIT, accessed on December 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Berlin universities are qualified for the elite finals. Der Tagesspiegel, accessed on December 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Dispute over money for clusters. Der Tagesspiegel, accessed on December 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Finally important again. ZEIT Campus, accessed on December 5, 2019 .
- ↑ There are many little Harvards here. ZEIT Campus, accessed on December 5, 2019 .
- ^ Universities of Excellence funding line: Complete list of the universities and the university network funded. Retrieved November 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Tilmann Warnecke: That's how much the universities of excellence get. October 10, 2019, accessed November 13, 2019 .