The University of Bonn has performed outstandingly in the latest QS Sustainability Rankings for 2026. It has improved significantly on last year’s already impressive showing, climbing to 57th in the world and second in Germany. Compiled by analysts at Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the rankings assess the work that universities are doing to tackle the most urgent environmental and social problems facing the world.

Alumni and donor association Universitätsgesellschaft Bonn has awarded its newly created “UGB Transfer Prize” for the first time. Three University of Bonn transfer projects were recognized for how they apply scientific findings in remarkable fashion to help meet societal challenges. At a Winter Soirée award ceremony held at University Club Bonn, the UGB disbursed a total of 29,000 euros in prize money for impactful knowledge transfer projects, exceptional doctoral theses and student activism.

Formally known as the European University of Brain and Technology, NeurotechEU is a consortium of top European universities formed to achieve advancements in teaching, research and innovation in the field of neurotechnology. Being a member of this alliance underscores the leading position the University of Bonn occupies internationally in one of the most dynamic research fields of our time. At the recent conference held in Spain, the Medical University of Innsbruck was officially inaugurated as the latest alliance member.

The exhibition “Bring the Portr[AI]ts!” opens December 1 at the University of Bonn in the lecture hall center of Poppelsdorf Campus, featuring twelve female scientists who made important contributions to their field in the male-dominated world of science. Their legacy, transported through images and bios, stands for many other pioneering women in research. For the exhibition, artificial intelligence was leveraged to create portrait photos that were never made in the subjects’ lifetime. Technology is thus creatively used here to make those visible whose accomplishments and stories have been largely overlooked.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is to provide €1.25 million in funding for a Reinhart Koselleck Project based at the University Hospital Bonn and the ImmunoSensation² Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn. The research team led by Professor Christoph Wilhelm, Professor for Immunopathology at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology, plans to study how the body maintains its delicate balance with the intestinal flora during times of illness and hunger.

The University of Bonn is once again featured on the international “Highly Cited Researchers” list: According to Clarivate Analytics, the information service provider that compiles the list, a total of ten researchers are among the top one percent of the most influential in their field worldwide.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is a rare autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the protective myelin sheath of nerve fibers in the central nervous system. Although MOGAD induces symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis (MS), its underlying biology appears to be fundamentally different. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for developing effective, disease-specific treatments. A new international study under contribution of ImmunoSensation2 member Prof. Anne-Katrin Pröbstel and her team now sheds light on these immune differences. The results have been published in Science Translational Medicine. 

Researchers from the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn, the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University Hospital Cologne have decoded the immunological properties of what is known as extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in the blood of patients suffering from the condition. Their findings, which have now been published in the journal “Nature Communications,” could help to develop new treatments and methods for diagnosing the illness.