At its recent annual retreat with the University management, the Academic Senate debated the future of the University. The focus was on its excellence strategy. The discussion once again made clear: The University will continue to pursue cutting-edge research and is already preparing for participation in the next round of the Excellence Strategy in seven years’ time.
The University is counting on continuing support for the MARUM as an Excellence Cluster from 2019 onwards. Two other areas would now have to be funded by the state of Bremen in the same way as a cluster in the Excellence Strategy – this will be the only way to create the requisite conditions for success in the next round of the national competition seven years from now. This is also the opinion of the Future Council of the University, a body comprising high-ranking personalities drawn from the fields of science management and science policy which advises the University in matters surrounding the Excellence Strategy.
In addition to this cluster funding, the Academic Senate supports a dynamic development of the University's high-profile research areas, which play such an important role in the development of new topics and recruitment of the best minds.
The University Management and the Academic Senate also agreed that the University must remain fit for a renewed success as a University of Excellence in the next round. In order to do so, it wants to evaluate its institutional concept, ensure its sustainability, and develop accordant new measures. This will only be possible with the availability of additional resources – the prerequisite for ensuring interdisciplinarity, innovation, internationalization, and gender equality. By the same token, University teaching also stands to benefit from the creation of new professorships.
The University President, Bernd Scholz-Reiter, summarized the outcome the retreat with the Academic Senate: “I am glad that we once again had such a constructive discussion and that the highest body of the University supports our proposal to continue building profile with excellent cutting-edge research.” The results of the retreat will flow into the University’s Strategy 2028: This was also the subject of intensive discussion and describes in depth the development course the University will follow in future.
