Three universities and two university consortia in Germany have been awarded Excellence Status (Exzellenzstatus) under the Excellence Strategy competition, reports the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). According to the newspaper, the award entails funding of up to €15 million per year for individual institutions and up to €28 million for university alliances.
- FAZ reports status awards for the Universities of Freiburg, Jena, and Cologne, as well as the Rhein-Main consortium and the Ruhr Innovation Lab.
- Eleven universities and alliances competed for a maximum of five new funding slots.
- Funding levels represent maximum upper limits: up to €15m annually per university and up to €28m for an alliance.
Selected Institutions and Consortia
Among the new individual entrants, FAZ names the universities of Freiburg, Jena, and Cologne.
Two university consortia were also selected:
- Rhein-Main-Universitäten — comprising the Technical University of Darmstadt, Goethe University Frankfurt, and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz;
- Ruhr Innovation Lab — comprising TU Dortmund University and Ruhr University Bochum.
According to the report, bids from Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover Medical School (MHH), the Oldenburg-Bremen and Giessen-Marburg university alliances, as well as the universities of Würzburg and Kiel, were not successful in this round.
Decision-Making Process
FAZ writes that 11 universities and consortia competed for a maximum of five new funding slots. Funding decisions are determined by the Excellence Commission (Exzellenzkommission), composed of a 39-member committee of international researchers alongside federal and state (Länder) science ministers.
The commission is chaired jointly by the President of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Chair of the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat), who serve without voting rights.
According to Wissenschaftsrat Chair Wolfgang Wick, cited by FAZ, the decisive criteria were a clear, convincing scientific concept and its global competitiveness. Institutional size and geographical quotas played no role.
DFG President Katja Becker, as quoted by FAZ, commended the high potential of interdisciplinary work and urged unsuccessful applicants to sustain the momentum built during their applications. Additionally, the overall Excellence Strategy is scheduled to undergo an independent evaluation.
Review of Existing Excellence Universities
According to FAZ, nine universities and the Berlin University Alliance successfully passed evaluation in March, retaining their status through 2033. By contrast, the University of Konstanz will lose its status starting in 2027, as it no longer meets the qualifying criteria. Winning at least two Clusters of Excellence (Exzellenzcluster) remains the mandatory prerequisite.
FAZ notes that participating institutions undergo re-evaluation every seven years. Upon satisfying programme criteria, support may continue on a permanent basis.