Hanse Science College
The Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK), based in Delmenhorst , was founded in 1995 as a non-profit foundation under civil law of the states of Lower Saxony and Bremen as well as the city of Delmenhorst and went into full operation in the summer of 1998.
tasks
As an Institute for Advanced Study, the college offers outstanding scientists the opportunity to concentrate on a research project within the framework of HWK fellowships, free of academic obligations, and to take up suggestions from other disciplines and from different scientific traditions. You cooperate with colleagues from neighboring universities and research institutions and thereby strengthen the north-west region as a science location.
The most important tasks are
- the establishment of general guidelines for the work of the foundation,
- the election of the foundation board; who is also the rector,
- the decision of the business plan.
Foundation and bodies
The college was headed by the founding rector Gerhard Roth until August 31, 2008 . He was followed on September 1, 2008 by the neurobiologist Reto Weiler as rector of the HWK. Since October 1, 2018, the Bremen university professor and since 2003 head of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroinformatics Kerstin Schill has been director of the college.
The college has a board of trustees with 14 members. The Board of Trustees includes two members each from the Lower Saxony state government and the Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen , as well as the President of the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg , the Rector of the University of Bremen , the Lord Mayor of the City of Delmenhorst and up to six personalities from science, business and politics .
Another body is the Scientific Advisory Board, consisting of representatives who represent the four scientific areas of the HWK. His duties are
- advising the rector
- Recommendations for the appointment of fellows of the college.
profile
The four main areas of work
- Energy research
- Marine and climate research
- Neuro- and Cognitive Sciences
- Social sciences
- as well as the art project Art in Progress
form the profile of the HWK
With the formation of the main work areas, the HWK contributes to strengthening and networking nationally and internationally recognized research potentials and clusters of excellence of the surrounding universities and research institutions. The development of new disciplinary research strategies is just as important as building interdisciplinary bridges. This is achieved through the cooperation with the fellows from the four different research areas, the meetings, conferences, workshops and interdisciplinary projects at the HWK as well as intensive cooperation with the corresponding regional scientific institutions and universities.