The big day approaches: Next week on April 3, the German Research Foundation is expecting about two hundred pre-proposals, so-called Skizzen [English: outline proposals], for Excellence Clusters. This marks the start of the next round of the competition for excellence funding financed by the Federal Government and the Länder. The University of Bremen has already submitted its five outline proposals, which were all developed in the University’s established high-profile research areas. The initiatives come from the areas of Marine Geosciences, Remote Earth Sensing, Materials and Engineering Sciences, the Social Sciences, and Computer Science. “We are outstandingly well-positioned in all these areas and have the best prerequisites for success”, says the President of the University of Bremen, Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter.
The University’s research academics have been working hard on their proposals for many months. Precisely because the German Research Foundation initially only asks for outline proposals, every word and inkling of meaning has to be carefully thought through. At the core of each outline proposal is a description of the research idea and work approach. The proposals must also contain a sound concept for the promotion of early-career researchers, gender mainstreaming, and research-based learning. Bernd Scholz-Reiter is happy with the outcome – both with the procedure as well as with the results, saying, “I’m proud that after so much dedicated effort we are able to enter the race with five clusters”.
University must now remain patient over the next few months while international panels of experts examine and evaluate the large number of outline proposals. Then, sometime in September, the best initiatives will be invited to prepare full proposals which, in turn, must be filed by February 2018. The final decision concerning which 50 or so clusters will eventually qualify for funding Germany wide won’t be reached until July 2018.
About the Excellence Strategy:
In June 2016 the German Government and the Länder agreed to continue the preceding Excellence Initiative under the new name of Excellence Strategy. The aim remains the same; namely, to strengthen the position of German universities in international competition for the best minds. The Excellence Strategy encompasses two funding lines: Excellence Clusters and Universities of Excellence. The funding line “Excellence Clusters” refers to large, internationally visible collaborative research groupings which are dedicated to longer term research on an important topic, of a strongly interdisciplinary nature, and which fit the profile of the respective university. Successful proposals receive funding over an initial seven-year period in an amount of 10 million euro per year. Subject to positive evaluation, the funding period can be extended. The University of Bremen already hosts one Excellence Cluster: the MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, which is also submitting a proposal in the present round.
In future, in order to retain the title University of Excellence, universities will have to host at least two Excellence Clusters. This funding line serves to strengthen a whole university as an institution and to consolidate its leading position in the international research landscape. Universities of Excellence are supported on a permanent basis. In 2012, the University of Bremen was successful with its institutional strategy titled “Ambitious and Agile”. It hopes to repeat this success in the Excellence Strategy.
If you would like to have more information on this topic, feel free to contact:
University of Bremen
Staff Unit Strategic Projects and Excellence (SPE)
Dr. Achim Wiesner
Phone: +49 421 218-60015
email: achim.wiesnerprotect me ?!vw.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
