In the words of the University of St Andrews, Hoch has played a key role in promoting scientific excellence and international cooperation in higher education as a distinguished researcher and academic leader. During his time as rector, he has led the University of Bonn to a number of major successes in the German Excellence Strategy: Under his guidance, it was named a University of Excellence in 2019 and again in 2026 and emerged from the contest as the country’s most successful university twice in a row, securing six Clusters of Excellence in 2018 and eight in 2025.
“This honorary doctorate fills me with immense joy and a deep sense of gratitude,” Rector Hoch says. “It means a particularly great deal to me because it’s being awarded by Scotland’s oldest university and one of the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world. Ever since it was formally constituted in 1413, the University of St Andrews has been synonymous with academic excellence and a unique university culture.
“St Andrews is one of the University of Bonn’s most important and most valuable international partners, and we’ve enjoyed close links as sister universities since 1911. Over the past hundred years and more, our partnership has grown steadily on the back of close academic and scientific cooperation, a wide variety of exchange formats and top-level dialogue in the spirit of trust. My heartfelt thanks go in particular to Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, who has done much to shape and support this partnership over many years, and to the Senatus Academicus, which is bestowing this great honor on me.”
Close ties dating back years
The Universities of Bonn and St Andrews have been close partners for many years. They signed a strategic cooperation agreement in December 2018 providing for extensive collaboration in research, teaching and administration. This partnership has been continuously expanded ever since, including through collaborative research funding, teaching projects, exchange programs and joint appointments. A further link between the two institutions was forged in 2023 when they founded the Global Universities for Societal Impact (GUSI) network together with three other members.
Professor Michael Hoch has been Rector of the University of Bonn since 2015 and is currently in his third term of office. He is Chair of German U15 e. V. and President of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. After studying biology in Heidelberg and Paris, he completed his doctorate at LMU Munich and obtained his Habilitation in molecular developmental genetics from TU Braunschweig. He has been Professor for Molecular Developmental Biology at the University of Bonn since 1999. His research interests include the lipid metabolism and the link between insulin signaling pathways and innate immunity in a model organism (in this case the fruit fly).
This latest conferral by the University of St Andrews marks the second honorary doctorate awarded to Hoch by an international partner university following on from Tokyo’s Waseda University back in 2017. He was also presented with the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, in 2024 for his services to Japanese-German academic exchange and dialogue. Hoch was named University Head of the Year 2019 (by CHE and “Die Zeit”) and has been crowned “Rector of the Year” three times (in 2020, 2021 and 2023) by the members of the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers. This latter achievement led to him being awarded the honorary title of “Rector of the Decade” in 2023.
