The decision was anticipated with great excitement. Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch and several hundred members of the University gathered in a lecture theater on the Poppelsdorf Campus to follow the press conference announcing the decision via livestream. The crowd erupted in celebration following the announcement of Bonn as a University of Excellence. Addressing the celebrating crowd, the rector said: “We are a University of Excellence! Today is a milestone in the 200-year history of our University. Our hard work has been rewarded and we were able to convince the jury of the capabilities of our University in a field of strong competitors.” This represents a great success for the University of Bonn in our efforts to forever remain one of the leading higher education institutions in both Germany and Europe at large.
Professor Hoch thanked everyone whose determination and team spirit contributed to the success. “‘We’ was the guiding theme of our application for the status of a University of Excellence. We succeeded because we worked together to face the competition. I should like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all researchers, deans, students, members of the Rectorate and all employees for their hard work. I should also like to express a debt of gratitude to all our extra-university co-operation partners and our countless supporters in the City of Bonn, the wider region and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The success of today reflects on the entire academic region around Bonn and beyond.”
Last September the University of Bonn was named host to six Clusters of Excellence across all seven faculties, making our institution the most successful university in the competition. With our recent successes in the Excellence grant program, the University of Bonn has finally established itself as one of the best research-led universities in Germany.
Disbursement of up to 105 million euros in funding per institution qualifying as a University of Excellence will commence on November 1, 2019 for an initial seven-year term. After this period, the institution is subject to an external evaluation.
Investing in people, networks and transfers
The centerpiece of the University of Bonn excellence strategy focuses on the triad “WE invest in people, WE foster networks, WE create impact“. The University is planning to use the financial support from the “ExStra” to attract top researchers at all stages of their careers and to improve the working conditions for research and research-oriented teaching (“WE invest in people”). The six new Transdisciplinary Research Areas established by the University will number amongst the beneficiaries of this new funding. These interdisciplinary bodies seek both to work across faculty boundaries and with partners outside the university environment to address pressing academic, technological and social challenges. The University will also use funding from the Excellence Initiative to strengthen its regional, national and international networks (“WE foster networks“). Finally, the University seeks to disseminate the findings of its research through knowledge transfer and academic communication so as to maximize utility (“WE create impact“).
Amid the thrill of victory, the Rector remains squarely focused on the institution’s ambitious goals, commenting: “To be named a ‘University of Excellence’ is earned recognition, but it comes with an obligation for us. In parallel with basic research driven by a general thirst for knowledge, we intend to promote transdisciplinary collaboration across faculties and subjects and further expand our worldwide research networks. In these efforts, ensuring equal opportunity, diversity, sustainability and family-friendly study and work conditions are high priorities and areas in which our progress will likewise be measured.”
Rector Hoch congratulated RWTH Aachen University on again being named a University of Excellence, noting with regret that the University of Cologne will no longer be receiving funding under the University of Excellence program. Rector Hoch’s comments: “The ABC region (Aachen, Bonn, Cologne—including Jülich) is one of Germany’s most powerful hubs for university research, and is indeed a European leader. This is evident in how strongly the region has performed in the Excellence Competition. Our three universities are linked within Clusters of Excellence, and we engage with each other in a host of other collaborative research projects. We will be seeking even greater collaboration, committed to further expanding our cooperation.”
The architect and motor of our success
The chairperson of the University Council Prof. Dr. Dieter Engels was one of the first to congratulate Rector Hoch: “Bonn’s new status as a University of Excellence is owed primarily to Michael Hoch, who is the architect of and the driving force behind this success!”
Mayor Ashok Sridharan personally congratulated the University as well: “I should like to offer my warmest congratulations to the University of Bonn for this magnificent success.” The funding secured from the Excellence Initiative will benefit not only the University but the city of Bonn as a whole. The University is now in a position to use its new-found status to extend its international reputation and attract the best researchers from over the globe. This will reinforce Bonn’s position as an international city and strengthen its status as a region of cutting-edge research. The city undertakes to support the University in all its activities.”