The University of Bonn’s Excellence Strategy
With now 8 Clusters of Excellence, we once again have more clusters than any other German university. As a University of Excellence since 2019, we want to create an ideal environment for outstanding researchers that fosters creative scientific work and promotes talented researchers at all stages of their careers.
WE invest in people
We invest in people on all academic levels. Our high-profile Hertz Chairs will further enhance the TRAs’ research profile and Schlegel Chairs will serve as instruments to improve research quality in fields that show potential for development. We also enhance our support for junior researchers at all stages of their careers by enabling our top talents to become independent early on. Argelander Tenure Track Professorships will offer junior researchers the opportunity to work at the boundary between disciplines.
Furthermore, equal opportunity is a top priority and we implement top-down measures to ensure that the percentage of female professors increases. Thus in developing our Excellence Strategy in 2018 the decision was made to raise our target of female representation in the professorship to 30 percent by 2026. By the end of 2024 we had already achieved this milestone, two years ahead of schedule. This success was made possible through an array of programs and measures. These included the internally developed STEP program, implemented with Excellence funding, which provides ongoing support for female researchers throughout their careers at the University of Bonn. And the federal and state 2030 Program for Women Professors, which provides funding to support the initial appointment of female professors.
WE foster networks
Research is at its most effective where people share knowledge, broaden their minds and come together to tackle questions. The University of Bonn sees itself as a place of dialogue, both internally within its own structures and externally with local, regional and international partners.
Our Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) are home to researchers from a range of disciplines studying issues of global importance, such as sustainability, health, artificial intelligence and societal resilience. Our TRAs espouse a research approach that is aligned with complex realities rather than the boundaries between subjects, and this principle also shapes our regional cooperation. The Bonn Research Alliance (BORA) brings the University into a strategic partnership with a number of non-university research organizations including institutes of the Max Planck Society, Helmholtz Association, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Leibniz Association.
Our international activities are wide-ranging: as part of the NeurotechEU European Universities alliance, we are shaping an integrated research and education space in the neurosciences together with some excellent partners. We also enjoy links with prestigious universities and research institutions across the globe through strategic partnerships, which enable bilateral exchanges for students and researchers and allow innovative projects to be developed together. In this way, we are consciously strengthening our international networks and, together with our partners, are helping to solve some of the challenges facing the world.
WE create impact
The fruits of our excellent research should benefit everyone. That is why we are consistently committed to transferring knowledge and innovation in order to shape social progress and create impact.
Our researchers find fundamental and application-oriented answers to questions from the region, the whole country, as well as from European and global contexts. This allows us to reach a wide range of target groups: children and young people as well as future students, aspiring young scientists, renowned researchers, ambitious founders, established companies and alumni around the world.
Because curiosity takes many forms and learning habits vary, we communicate our science in a variety of ways: With events such as the Science Festival, Kinderuni (Children's University), the forsch Magazine or our research podcast ‘Hypothesis’. P26, the University of Bonn's House of Research and Knowledge, is a place where science and society can exchange ideas and engage in dialogue. It offers exhibitions, panel discussions and seminars. We also build bridges between science, business and society with targeted transfer activities, for example through our Transfer Centre enaCom. You can find an overview of the broad spectrum we offer in the field of science communication on the website „Science for everyone“.
Transdisciplinary Research
Since 2015, we have redefined our research profile and identified six Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs), each of which now has a Cluster of Excellence at its core. TRAs focus our research efforts on key scientific, technological and societal challenges, and are at the same time spaces for exploration and innovation that bring together areas of excellence and emerging fields.
“We are a University of Excellence”
In 2019, the University of Bonn welcomed the decision of the Excellence Commission to grant it the status of a University of Excellence with pride and joy (read the press release). Since May 2025, it has been clear that the University will have eight clusters from the beginning of 2026 and will therefore compete to retain its title.
„Wir sind Exzellenzuniversität“
Bild © Universität Bonn / YouTube
Clusters of Excellence
Since January 2019, the University of Bonn has six Clusters of Excellence, more than any other university in Germany. This will change with the new funding period. From January 2026, the university will then have eight Clusters of Excellence. And thus maintains its leading position.
Uni Bonn celebrates – 8 out of 8 Clusters secured
Bild © Universität Bonn / YouTube
Hausdorff Center for Mathematics
The research of the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) ranges from pure and applied mathematics to mathematically orientated research in economics as well as interdisciplinary work.
ImmunoSensation2
The ultimate goal of ImmunoSensation2 is to decipher the principles that govern the global functionality of the immune system in healthy and diseased states.
Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies
With the key concept of “Strong Asymmetrical Dependency” the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS) opens up a new perspective on slavery and dependency research.
PhenoRob
PhenoRob, the only Cluster of Excellence in Germany in agricultural sciences, brings together researchers from different disciplines to investigate how technology can enable sustainable crop production.
ECONtribute: Markets and Public Policy
Research at ECONtribute focuses on markets at the interface between economics, politics and society aiming to advance a new paradigm for the analysis of market failure.
Matter and light for quantum computing (ML4Q)
The aim of the Matter and Light for Quantum Computing (ML4Q) Cluster is to develop new computing and networking architectures using the principles of quantum mechanics.
New Cluster: Color meets Flavor
Researchers are wondering where new phenomena of fundamental physics might be hiding. Some of the most intriguing measurements in recent years have involved the interplay between the strong (“color”) and weak (“flavor”) interactions. Researchers want to investigate this interplay in more detail in a close partnership between theory and experimentation.
New Cluster: Our Dynamic Universe
This cluster brings the various processes of astrophysics together through a combination of observations using new instruments, theory backed by innovative simulation and data science methods, and laboratory astrophysics. The aim is to come up with a complete description of the evolution of matter and energy flows over time.
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Career development
The Argelander Program for early career researchers offers comprehensive support, tailored to interests and career stages.
Transfer
We are committed to advancing the transfer of knowledge, technology, and expertise.
Digitalization Strategy
Future-oriented digitalization through innovation in research, teaching, IT, organization and social exchange.