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.

Wanja Wiese Awarded Heisenberg Grant

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has accepted Privatdozent Wanja Wiese from the University of Bonn to its Heisenberg Programme. This provides five years’ worth of funding that enables researchers to complete high-quality projects and thus further enhance their academic and scientific reputation. A philosopher and mathematician, Wiese studies the possibility of consciousness in artificial systems and now stands to receive funding of up to €570,000.

What makes forest protection work?

A new study from the Institute for Food and Resource Economics at the University of Bonn shows that the success of nature conservation measures depends partly on the credible enforcement of environmental laws. The study “Enforcement drives conservation policy impacts at the Brazilian agricultural frontier“ has now been published in the academic journal "Global Environmental Change" and was led by Dr. Javier Miranda, University of Bonn, in collaboration with Prof. Dr. David Wuepper, University of Bonn, and Prof. Dr. Jan Börner, University of Bonn.

Europe’s Digital Dependence Is Rising—the U.S. and China Pull Ahead

Dependence on digital technologies in the European Union continues to grow—despite all calls for greater digital sovereignty. Between 2010 and 2023, Europe’s “Digital Dependence Index” (DDI) rose by 0.5 percentage points, while China reduced its dependence by nearly 11 percentage points and the U.S. by 6 percentage points. A major weakness lies in digital platforms, where European countries are almost entirely dependent on foreign providers. This is according to a policy study by the Vodafone Institute and the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS) at the University of Bonn.

How deeply do spiders sleep?

Humans and vertebrates go through various stages of sleep, including REM (rapid eye movement) sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and muscle twitches. Can a similar sleep state be observed in spiders? Researchers from the Institute of Organismic Biology at the University of Bonn investigated this in the Australian jumping spider Portia fimbriata.

Jens Vygen and Vera Traub receive prestigious Lanchester Prize

Jens Vygen, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Bonn, and his former PhD student Vera Traub, now a professor at ETH Zurich, have been awarded the 2026 Frederick W. Lanchester Prize. The international award recognizes their joint book, “Approximation Algorithms for Traveling Salesman Problems,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2025. The prize is awarded for outstanding English-language scholarly contributions in operations research and management sciences published within the past five years.

Bonn-St Andrews Joint Academic Appointments Scheme Welcomes Three New Academics

Now entering its fourth year, the Bonn-St Andrews Joint Academic Appointments Scheme continues to strengthen the strategic partnership between the University of Bonn and the University of St Andrews. The initiative enables academics from both institutions to dedicate 20% of their time over a three-year period to teaching and research activities at the partner university, fostering deeper collaboration across a broad range of disciplines.