Research and Study at the University of Excellence in Bonn

The University of Bonn is inviting the graduating class of 2020/21 to a "Unifest" again this year - in a new format due to the pandemic. The University of Excellence is breaking new ground with its Unifest, which holds digital offerings as well as a "Graduation Walk" around the Hofgartenwiese park for the future alumni.

The Magna Charta Observatory in Bologna has accepted the University of Bonn as a new signatory of the Magna Charta Universitatum. Due to the ongoing pandemic, a digital launch ceremony for the release of the new Magna Charta has now taken place.

Following its recent successes, the ranking by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of Leiden University (Netherlands) also confirms the scientific excellence of the University of Bonn and the international importance of its research.

In the majority of insects, metamorphosis fosters completely different looking larval and adult stages. For example, adult butterflies are completely different from their larval counterparts, termed caterpillars. This “decoupling” of life stages is thought to allow for adaptation to different environments. Researchers of the University of Bonn now falsified this text book knowledge of evolutionary theory for stoneflies. They found that the ecology of the larvae largely determines the morphology of the adults by investigating 219 earwig and stonefly species at high-resolution particle accelerators. The study has now been published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.