A Tradition of Excellence

Bonn is Germany’s Preeminent University of Excellence

We have been one of eleven German Universities of Excellence since the summer of 2019. And we are the only German university in the Excellence Contest conducted by the federal government and German states (as part of their Excellence Strategy—ExStra) to receive funding for six Clusters of Excellence. This makes us the most successful University of Excellence in their Excellence Strategy. Find out more about the planning for our future as a University of Excellence.

News from the Excellence Strategy
Faculty of Medicine Awards Honorary Doctorate to Sharon Lewin
The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn has conferred an honorary doctorate on the illustrious researcher Professor Sharon Lewin. The Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, Professor Lewin is also a Laureate Professor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne in Australia and collaborates with the University Hospital Bonn. She is being recognized for her exceptional research on the international stage and her groundbreaking work in the field of HIV research in particular.
Lab Findings Support the Concept that Reducing Neuroinflammation Could Help Fight Alzheimer’s
Scientists from DZNE, University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn provide new evidence that preventing brain inflammation is a promising approach for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings, based on studies in cell culture, mice and tissue samples from patients, may contribute to the development of more effective therapies. They are published in the scientific journal “Immunity”. 
Simon Stellmer receives ERC Proof of Concept Grant
Professor Simon Stellmer,  a member of the Cluster of Excellence ML4Q, receives a ‘Proof of Concept Grant’ from the European Research Council (ERC) for his project „GyroRevolutionPlus“. With the funding of €150,000 for up to 18 months, the physicist will continue to prepare his research results from previous ERC projects for commercial application. This is the second time that Professor Stellmer has been successful in this funding program after having received a grant for his previous project ‘GyroRevolution’ in 2023. The precision instruments he and his team are developing can be used to improve natural disaster early warning systems.
Inflammatory diseases influence the course of hair loss
Asthma, atopic dermatitis or Hashimoto's thyroiditis as concomitant diseases are risk factors for clinical features associated with a poor prognosis in circular hair loss, also known as alopecia areata (AA). In patients with three atopic diseases, namely atopic dermatitis, asthma and rhinitis, the average age of onset of AA is about ten years earlier than in patients without chronic inflammatory comorbidities. This has now been established by researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn in a large cohort study of affected patients. Their results have now been published in the journal "Allergy".

This is what the "Excellence Strategy" is all about

The Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and German States was adopted in 2016 with the long-term aim of enhancing Germany’s standing and international competitiveness as a location for science and scholarship; implementation commenced in 2018. The associated grant program successfully rolled out in the earlier Excellence Initiative (of 2005-2017) forms the funding basis for the process of ongoing development at German universities. Roughly half a billion euros in funding is budgeted annually, three-quarters of which are put up by the federal government and one quarter by the German states. The goal: promoting research excellence by heightening the profile of the national higher education system and strengthening collaboration between its member institutions. The Excellence Strategy provides for two grant programs for which universities can apply:

What is a “Cluster of Excellence”?

Clusters of Excellence are formed as an instrument for providing project-specific funding to universities and university consortia for research in fields of importance in a context of international competition. In September 2018 the decision was made to allocate funding for applications connected to the University of Bonn for the current grant period, out of a total of 57 approved projects. The annual funding budgeted for Clusters of Excellence ranges between three and ten million euros, granted for an initial seven-year period. Both new and follow-on applications may be approved at the end of this period, subject to the limit of two funding periods for Clusters of Excellence.

What is a “University of Excellence”?

The grant program for Universities of Excellence is in place as a means to empower individual institutions and university alliances or consortia to make further gains as international research leaders. Annual funding of between 10 and 15 million euros is available for individual universities, and up to 28 million euros for university consortia. 
A new aspect to this grant program now is that universities of supra-regional stature are eligible for joint funding from both the federal and state governments on a non-temporary basis. For Universities of Excellence the condition applies that they must successfully pass a research evaluation every seven years. Decisions regarding funding for new and ongoing projects are to be made in 2026.

The University of Bonn's Future Concept

The Future Concept outlined by the University of Bonn was effective in convincing the evaluating judges to select the institution as one of eleven Universities (and university alliances) of Excellence. At the heart of this Future Concept lies a set of fundamental objectives: promoting transdisciplinary research, through the formation of Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs); “We invest in people”—creating high-profile professorships to attract scholars of excellence across the range of qualification levels; “We foster networks”—forming and strengthening research alliances; and “We create impact” by furthering knowledge transfer and communication within the research community.

Eine Wissenschaftlerin und ein Wissenschaftler arbeiten hinter einer Glasfassade und mischen Chemikalien mit Großgeräten.
© USGS on unsplash

Transdisciplinary Research Areas

The six existing Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) have touchpoints across the entire spectrum of academic inquiry at the University.

Exzellenzstrategie -  TRAs
© Volker Lannert/Uni Bonn

The ‘Future Concept’

Our strategy to deliver excellence in research and teaching is summarily expressed in the slogan: “We invest in people, we foster networks, we create impact.

Eine Wissenschaftlerin und ein Wissenschaftler arbeiten hinter einer Glasfassade und mischen Chemikalien mit Großgeräten.
© Volker Lannert/HCM

Our Clusters of Excellence

The University of Bonn has six Clusters of Excellence, including alliances with the University of Cologne and the RWTH Aachen University.

Eine Wissenschaftlerin und ein Wissenschaftler arbeiten hinter einer Glasfassade und mischen Chemikalien mit Großgeräten.
© Volker Lannert/Uni Bonn

High-Profile Professorships

Excellence at our University is further enhanced by high-profile professorial chairs: the prestigious Hertz, Schlegel and Argelander professorships.

Contact

Avatar Hoch

Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Hoch

Rector of the University of Bonn
Avatar Grunwald

Prof. Dr. Ilona Grunwald

Vice-Rector for for Research and Career Development
Wird geladen