Nowadays, top level university research is almost unimaginable without approaches focusing on interdisciplinarity and networking. The networking of disciplines is the ground-breaking concept, for which we set up the required structures.

Academic profiling

In 2007, the University of Rostock developed three profiling fields to mark the research fields of the future and also, to give researchers the opportunity to gain a new perspective on their own area of expertise. The department "Science and Technology of Life, Light & Matter" deals with the role of light and molecule in natural and life sciences. The department "Maritime Systems" focuses on the coast as a living and economic environment, whereas the department "Aging, Science and Humanities" conducts research on models of successful aging. The wide range of scientists based in Rostock offers ideal conditions for networked activities, innovative approaches and practice-oriented fundamental research - giving impulses inside and outside the university as a result of a coherent concept. Thus the profiling fields pool the strengths of the location and the relevance of advanced scientific issues with the structural capabilities of a comprehensive university.

Together, the three profiling fields/departments form the Interdisciplinary Faculty of the University of Rostock. It is the first interdisciplinary faculty in Germany.

Sound basis

Top level research cleared, for instance, the way for two collaborative research centres and six university graduate training programs (Graduiertenkolleg):

Collaborative research centres

• SFB 652 "Strong correlations and collective effects in radiation fields: Coulomb systems, clusters and particles""
• SFB/Transregio 37: Micro- and Nanosystems in Medicine - Reconstruction of Biological Functions

Graduate training programs (Graduiertenkolleg)

• New Methods for Sustainability in Catalysis and Technique
• Cultural Encounters and the Discourses of Scholarship
• Multimodal Smart Appliance Ensembles for Mobile Applications (MuSAMA)
• Integrative Development of Modelling and Simulation Methods for Regenerative Systems (dIEM oSiRiS)
• Analysis and Simulation of Electric Interactions between Implants and Biosystems (WELISA)

Co-operation with the scientific environment

The complex scientific landscape in Rostock and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern provides excellent opportunities for researchers. The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, five research institutes of the Leibniz Community and two Fraunhofer institutes form the backbone of a powerful science region. Only recently, in November 2009, the University of Rostock and the Leibniz institutes launched a common ScienceCampus offering a wide range of new options for ambitious research projects.

Focus on high-level education

Today, about 15,000 young people study at the University of Rostock. More than 350 university lecturers and more than 1000 research scientists are available for them. This ensures a very favourable student-teacher ratio and excellent conditions for target-oriented studies. The interaction of study advisory service, intensive counselling and efficient quality assurance form the basis for a viable study program. With about 5,000 members of staff, the University of Rostock and the Rostock University Hospital belong to the largest employers in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.