The future of the German Excellence Initiative as the German Excellence Strategy
The Excellence Initiative will continue as the Excellence Strategy (Exzellenzstrategie) from 2019 onwards, with a focus on promoting overall strategies at the Universities of Excellence, strengthening outstanding research projects and increasing visibility in an international context.
While it was originally envisioned as a temporary measure, Germany’s federal government now plans to provide €533m on an annual basis. It will supply 75 per cent of the cost, while the remaining 25 per cent will be covered by the federal state where the university is based. A total of €385m and €148m have been earmarked for the Excellence Clusters and Excellence Universities respectively.
Clusters of Excellence will receive an average of €3m to €10m annually. Universities will also be able to apply for an additional allowance of up to €1m a year in order to strengthen the governance and strategic direction of the university’s management. Universities of Excellence will receive €10m to €15m per year.
Funding for graduate schools will be discontinued in the next phase of the Excellence Initiative. Graduate schools that previously benefitted from the Excellence Initiative will have to seek alternative forms of funding, either publicly or privately, or try to participate as Clusters of Excellence.
The proposed funding for the Excellence Strategy has attracted some criticism, with some academics observing that the funding is relatively low by international standards, as universities such as ETH Zurich, Oxford and Cambridge all have significantly higher budgets. However, the open-ended nature of the German Excellence Strategy means that there is significant long-term potential, with a greater number of universities and research projects likely to benefit.
Clusters of Excellence
Outstanding research groups were recognised as ‘Clusters of Excellence’ and awarded funding. The following tables display the winners for the first and second rounds of the German Excellence Initiative, as well as the research groups that became Clusters of Excellence in 2019, under the new Excellence Strategy.
In September 2018, 57 Clusters of Excellence were announced, as part of the new Excellence Strategy. Funding began in January 2019.
Universities of Excellence
Universities are recognised as ‘Universities of Excellence’ due to their strategies to promote outstanding research and their ability to compete on an international level.
On 19 July 2019, the Excellence Commission announced the first Universities of Excellence that will be funded under the new Excellence Strategy. Out of 19 applications, ten universities and one university Consortium of Excellence were selected to receive permanent institutional funding as well as the sought-after title as Universities of Excellence.
Graduate schools
In order to qualify for Excellence Initiative funding, graduate schools had to produce excellent research and allow young scientists to excel in their chosen field. The following universities received funding during the first two rounds of funding.
Response to the German Universities Excellence Initiative
Response to the Excellence Initiative has generally been positive; a huge number of universities have benefitted from the funding and have gained more distinct profiles. The increased support for young scientists is also a significant benefit, and has made German universities a more attractive option for researchers across the world. The Excellence Initiative played an important part in attracting more than 4,000 foreign scientists to Germany.
A commission chaired by Dieter Imboden of the Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, ETH Zürich) was mostly positive. Its report, published in 2016, stated that the Excellence Initiative “has made the German university system more dynamic and has become a tangible symbol for the will to improve the international competitiveness of German universities”. While the Excellent Initiative had not yet reached all its goals, the report said it had set the system “on the right path”.
There has been some criticism of the Excellence Initiative, with claims that the ‘reputation hierarchy’ has remained unchanged, with too much focus placed on professorship appointments and publication in prestigious international journals, which tend to favour basic science over applied science. It could also be argued that the focus on research is too narrow, as excellent teaching and mentorship is equally important.
Nonetheless, the substantial funding and the number of institutions that have benefitted financially mean that on the whole, the impact of the Excellence Initiative has been very positive. It has had a transformative effect on many university research projects, and the future looks even brighter.
