First Rate: Universität Hamburg now a University of Excellence!

Today in Bonn, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Anja Karliczek, announced which German universities will be funded through the Excellence Strategy - Universität Hamburg is one of the selected few and will belong, as of November 2019, to the Universities of Excellence group. The Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments, "ExStra" for short, is a funding competition for top-level university research. ExStra aims to strengthen Germany's scientific standing and improve its international competitiveness. Universities of Excellence thus serve as Germany's flagships in the international flotilla of higher education institutions. In this vein, the Universität Hamburg proposal was submitted under the slogan "A Flagship University: Innovating and Cooperating for a Sustainable Future." University president Dr. h.c. Dieter Lenzen: "Mission accomplished: we did it! For the first time in the history of its existence, there can be absolutely no doubt about it: our University is certified top class. First of all, I want to thank the many members of the University, from the researchers to the coordinators and management staff, who contributed to this accomplishment. In addition, I also want to thank those members whose daily work facilitated such a triumph: From our HR staff to our building service teams, to our student assistants and lab technicians, our professors and our research associates.