Research and Study at the University of Excellence in Bonn

With eight Clusters of Excellence, we are Germany's most successful University of Excellence, producing evidence-based academic contributions that help our modern, complex and changing society address the global challenges of the 21st century. Supporting the next generation is central to our mission.

We aim to inspire and foster young talent, early-career researchers and emerging leaders who play a vital role in safeguarding our democracy and shaping a future of progress, prosperity, and sustainable transformation in a digital and globally connected world.

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Latest News

Debunking Immune-System Myths Over Dinner, at the “Immunesystem Gerüchteküche”

People who want to do something for their health these days often turn to Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms for information. But what’s really behind the posts and trends shared by health influencers? On May 13, the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation3 at the University of Bonn invited the public to join five professors for dinner to explore this question. In a relaxed atmosphere, social media posts on health and the immune system were presented, discussed by the approximately 40 participants, and analyzed together with the experts. The launch of this new format took place at John Barleycorn as part of Bonn’s “May of Science.”

Smart Monitoring for People with Epilepsy

The PearNet project is developing special wearables—body-worn electronic devices—that give epilepsy patients advance warning of seizures and monitor and record them when they happen. The brainchild of researchers from the University Hospital Bonn and University of Bonn, it has now secured some €2.7 million in funding over three years via the GO-Bio next program run by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). The money will go toward making further preparations for spinning off the project so that its set of wearables can be launched on the biotechnology market.

University of Bonn Boosted by New Research Alliances

The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) has announced that a new Collaborative Research Center (CRC) is to be set up at the University of Bonn: the “FoodDiverse” collaborative project, which is studying the diversification of food systems. The University will also be involved in a new CRC/Transregio (CRC-TRR) looking at narratives from pre-modern times and various cultural contexts, while two existing CRC-TRRs have been extended for another funding period. TRRs are projects that are implemented by several universities working together.

Depression dampens anticipation, not enjoyment

The loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities, which is experienced in everyday life and can be very distressing, is a core symptom of major depression. However, it has remained unclear exactly how anhedonia, also known as a pleasure deficit, manifests itself. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, and the University Hospital Tübingen have found that people with depression do not perceive food as less rewarding when they actually consume it. The differences compared to people without depression emerge during anticipation: how much they want something before they receive it. This reduced desire is also linked to the clinical severity of anhedonia. The study’s findings have now been published in the journal “Cell Reports Medicine.”

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We are Uni Bonn!

Together we are the "we": The roots of the success of the University of Excellence Bonn lie in its people. In the #WeAreUniBonn campaign, we present employees, students, and alumni who, with their remarkable achievements, contribute to the success of our university.

Angkana Rüland

The mathematician focuses on challenges that arise in the natural sciences and lead to mathematical questions. Prof. Dr. Angkana Rüland was awarded the Leibniz Prize for her work.

Cyrill Stachniss

Prof. Dr. Cyrill Stachniss is an expert in robotics and research for sustainable plant production. He is one of the two spokespersons for the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence.

Jaqueline Lorenzen

The new public law of sustainability is Prof. Dr. Jaqueline Lorenzen’s area of expertise. For this reason, she was appointed Argelander Professor of Law on Sustainability and Ecological Transformation.

Dominik Bach

Prof. Dr. Dominik Bach's research uses artificial intelligence to advance our understanding of mental illnesses. He is the Hertz Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience.

Events

Tuesday May 19, 2026

Workshop: “Learning Strategies and More” (Part 2)

Poppelsdorfer Allee 49, ...

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

First-year students in particular often find that learning at school and learning at university are two very different matters. In your final years of high ...

Tuesday May 19, 2026

Ringvorlesung Nachhaltigkeit: Sustainable Food Consumption

Hörsaal IV, Hauptgebäude

04:15 PM - 05:45 PM

Sustainable Food Consumption - The Case of Carbon Footprint labels

Tuesday May 19, 2026

Time, space, sovereignty – Europe's Galileo System

Campus Poppelsdorf

06:00 PM - 08:00 PM

Global navigation systems such as GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou are not only used for navigating vehicles and aircraft. They are also essential for precise ...

Wednesday May 20, 2026

Dies academicus

Hauptgebäude der ...

09:00 AM - 08:00 PM

Für Mittwoch, 20. Mai 2026, lädt die Universität Bonn ab 9:15 Uhr zum Dies academicus ein – dem traditionellen Tag der offenen Tür für alle Interessierten. ...

Event Calendar

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Research and Study at the University of Excellence in Bonn