News — University of Bonn

Bonn Most Successful University in Excellence Strategy

The Excellence Commission, made up of the Committee of Experts and the science ministers at federal and state level, announced earlier today that the University of Bonn has been awarded funding from the federal and state governments for a further seven years (2027–2033). With its eight Clusters of Excellence, the University of Bonn will thus retain its crown as the most successful University of Excellence in the contest as it enters the new funding period. The University will now take additional strategic steps to establish itself in the leading pack of the world’s best universities over the long term, says Rector Professor Michael Hoch.

Marking the Start of Uni Life and Offering Guidance

The University of Bonn is inviting all new starters to come along to the First-Semester Students’ Welcome on October 8, 2026. Based in the University Main Building and the Arkadenhof, the event will provide information, advice and a wealth of opportunities for them to get to know the University, its departmental student bodies and their fellow students from their own and other subjects. The celebrations will be rounded off with a party in the evening.

Threefold Success in “Global Minds”

Three world-renowned researchers are set to strengthen research consortia of which the University of Bonn is a member. Professor Joanna Kalucka, a biomedical scientist from Aarhus University, will serve as a Mercator Fellow Global in Collaborative Research Center 1454, “Metaflammation,” which is based in Bonn and also involves the University Hospital Bonn. One “Global Minds” professorship will be established in each of the Bonn/Cologne Clusters of Excellence DYNAVERSE and ECONtribute.

Do Grasslands in More Diverse Landscapes Suffer Less from Drought?

During the heatwave of 2018, meadows and pastures also suffered from the drought. Are grasslands in diverse landscapes more resilient to yield losses than those in monotonous regions? Researchers at the University of Bonn led by Marco Ferro and Prof. Dr. Jan Börner from the Institute for Food and Resource Economics (ILR) investigated the influence of landscape diversity on the drought tolerance of grasslands as part of Collaborative Research Center 1502 DETECT.

UNIPRENEURS honors Denise Fischer-Kreer

Prof. Dr. Denise Fischer-Kreer received an award from UNIPRENEURS for her exceptional dedication to spin-offs and entrepreneurship. The professor for Entrepreneurial Behaviour at the Institute of Entrepreneurship, University of Bonn, was honored for her work promoting entrepreneurship within higher education and research in Germany, along with 19 other professors. The award ceremony took place in Berlin.

Ilona Grunwald Kadow appointed Max Planck Fellow

Professor Ilona C. Grunwald Kadow from the University of Bonn has been appointed Max Planck Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar (MPINB). Over the next five years, she will establish a research group investigating how interactions between the brain and the body influence behavior. The appointment will further strengthen cooperation between the two Bonn-based institutions.

Benjamin Born Wins 2026 Carl Menger Award

Benjamin Born, a professor in the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn, has been honored with the 2026 Carl Menger Award. Worth €20,000, it is presented by the Verein für Socialpolitik (German Economic Association, VfS) for innovative international research work in the fields of monetary macroeconomics, monetary policy and currency policy.