The marine sciences at the University of Bremen have scored a first success in of the Excellence Strategy. In the first round of the federal- and state-sponsored competition, the MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences was able to convince the jury with its outline proposal for a cluster. “We are delighted to learn that MARUM is successful in the Excellence Strategy,” commented Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, President of the University of Bremen. In the past, the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences was able to hold its own in the Excellence Initiative and is currently the only Excellence Cluster at the University of Bremen. The good performance of the MARUM shows that the University of Bremen is excellently positioned in the field of marine sciences, says Scholz-Reiter. This strength had now paid off in the first phase of the Excellence Strategy. The Bremen Senator for Science, Health and Consumer Protection, Professor Eva Quante-Brandt, confirms the Rector's statement: "The University of Bremen is a renowned scientific institution known internationally for its excellent research."
Strong competition
The news that MARUM has been selected was announced following a review of 195 proposals for Excellence Clusters submitted by no less than 63 universities. This process, which is conducted by German Research Foundation (DFG), began back in April. In addition to new initiatives, the existing clusters were also applying for a continuation of their support. “In the end, about 50 applications will compete in the competition. There are 43 existing clusters, however, which all want to continue with their excellent research and make further progress. The competition was therefore enormous,” says Scholz-Reiter. He went on to point out that it is very hard for new initiatives to assert themselves in such a situation. A total of five outline proposals were sent in by the University of Bremen in spring 2017. Despite the disappointing news concerning four of these proposals, Scholz-Reiter remains convinced of the excellence of research done by the University’s research academics: “Of course, this is a great disappointment for us, and above all for those who have worked so hard on the proposals over the past months. Even though we fell short in the end, we continue to believe in the excellent quality of research made in Bremen. We therefore intend to purposefully pursue our chosen path and prepare to compete in the Excellence Strategy when the next round comes up seven years from now.” “We will certainly do our utmost to support this process,” said the Senator.
Second funding line now obsolete
For the University of Bremen, the success of only one cluster proposal simultaneously means it cannot take part in the second funding line of the Excellence Strategy. In order to compete in the competition for the title of University of Excellence, universities must in future have at least two Excellence Clusters. “It is most unfortunate that we will not be able to take part in the second round next year,” says Scholz-Reiter. The extra support resulting from the Excellence Initiative in recent years has brought the University forward in many areas. As painful as the loss of the excellence title may be, with the University Strategy 2018 to 2028 we are still able to build on present achievements, says the University President with optimism. Professor Andreas Breiter, Vice President Research, likewise points out: “Nothing has happened to prevent the University of Bremen continuing to be a location of excellent research.” The MARUM is one of the guarantors for this, and its success radiates into the other fields of research. The Center for Marine Environmental Sciences is now required to formulate the full application. This must be done by February 21, 2018. In the coming period of excellence funding, the researchers at MARUM intend to devote their efforts to examination of the ocean bed. The DFG will announce which clusters will receive excellence funding in September 2018.
About the excellence funding initiative
In June 2016, the Federal Government and the Länder decided to continue the Excellence Initiative under the new title of “Excellence Strategy”: The aim is to further strengthen German universities in international competition. The Excellence Strategy encompasses two funding lines: Excellence Clusters and Excellence Universities. Excellence Clusters are large, internationally visible research collaborations having a long-term perspective on a topic of lasting relevance, a strong interdisciplinary research approach, and expected to have a major impact on developing an institution’s profile. If successful, they are granted three to ten million euro per year over a seven-year period. And if they continue to evidence success in the context of an evaluation, they can also be financed over the longer term.
The funding line “Excellence Universities” serves to strengthen the universities as institutions and foster expansion of their international visibility in research. Universities of Excellence receive permanent support. In 2012, the University of Bremen was successful with its Institutional Strategy, which bore the title "ambitious and agile".
More information on this topic under:
www.uni-bremen.de/exzellent.html
www.marum.de
www.bmbf.de/de/die-exzellenzstrategie-3021.html
www.dfg.de/download/pdf/foerderung/programme/exzellenzstrategie/zeitplan_exzellenzstrategie.pdf
