RWTH Submits Draft Proposals in the "Excellence Strategy" Competition
On April, RWTH Aachen University submitted its draft proposals for Clusters of Excellence within the “Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments” to the German Research Foundation DFG. The Excellence Strategy is a national competition to strengthen cutting-edge university research in Germany.
What began about ten years ago with Germany’s Excellence Initiative is now being continued in the Excellence Strategy, a new nationwide competition which consists of two funding lines: Clusters of Excellence and Universities of Excellence. The first funding line seeks to support internationally competitive research at universities or in university collaborations.
The Excellence programs are of the utmost importance for Germany as a location for research and the international visibility of its universities. The research areas in which RWTH – individually or in collaboration with other universities – participates in the competition address topics of high relevance for society and are thus point the way forward to future research and development.
RWTH positions its Clusters of Excellence in key research areas that belong to its core strengths. As RWTH rector Ernst Schmachtenberg explains: “Our scientists have formulated challenging, fascinating research questions, with which we want to address major global challenges in the context of the upcoming competition.”
The projects outlined in the proposals all apply state-of-the-art research methods from the areas of information technology and biotechnology.
Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Technology
Over the last years, with the help of the Excellence Initiative, RWTH Aachen has managed to establish itself as an integrated, interdisciplinary university of technology. “Our strengths lie in interdisciplinary research, in the interplay between the engineering and natural sciences on the one hand and the life and social sciences as well as the arts and humanities on the other,” says Professor Rudolf Mathar, the Vice-Rector for Research and Structure. An important instrument that originated in the Excellence Initiative is the successful collaboration with Forschungszentrum Jülich within JARA, the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, which laid the foundation for new research clusters.
By the end of September, the German Research Foundation will announce which universities will be invited to submit full proposals for their Clusters of Excellence. RWTH Aachen is confident in its ability to succeed in the upcoming competition and is looking forward to continuing on its successful path.