Lower Saxony and Bremen are left empty-handed when it comes to selecting new locations of excellence. Neither the Leibniz University of Hannover (LUH), the Hannover Medical School (MHH) nor the joint association of the universities of Oldenburg and Bremen received a contract. This was announced by the Science Council and the German Research Foundation following the decision of the Excellence Commission in Bonn. The universities reacted with disappointment, but want to continue pursuing their future plans.
Mohrs: Goal not achieved
“Lower Saxony entered this competition with the aim of once again having a university of excellence in the state. We have not achieved this goal,” explained Science Minister Falko Mohrs (SPD). The decision does not change the academic performance of the universities. The universities deserve the state’s support in the future.
Mohrs compared the result to a sporting competition: “At the Olympic Games you can show a personal best and still not win a medal. Not because the performance wasn't strong, but because others in this competition were a little better."
Göttingen until 2012, Bremen until 2019
Lower Saxony most recently had a location of excellence with the University of Göttingen from 2007 to 2012. According to the Ministry of Science, the future concept “Göttingen. “Tradition – Innovation – Autonomy” is promoted. It received no further funding in 2012. Lower Saxony has not yet been represented in the Universities of Excellence funding line, which has been running since 2019.
The University of Bremen was one of the universities of excellence from 2012 to 2019. Their future concept “Ambitious and agile” was funded. The foundations were a marine science cluster of excellence and a social science graduate school.
Hanover's universities are sticking to their plans
“The decision disappoints us very much, but at the same time it is an incentive,” explained LUH President Volker Epping. The LUH will evaluate the report and continue to pursue its plans. To achieve this, the university is dependent on further support from the state. Six interdisciplinary research laboratories are planned that will more closely connect science with future societal issues. The LUH had previously stated that without funding the implementation would probably be smaller and take longer.
“I am of course disappointed,” said MHH President Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner. With the funding, the conversion could be significantly accelerated and implemented more efficiently. The MHH is sticking to its “INSPIREfutureHealth” program. It is intended to connect research, teaching and patient care more closely and focuses on prevention, the prediction of disease risks, precision medicine and participation.
Oldenburg and Bremen are looking forward to the next round
Oldenburg University President Ralph Bruder announced: "We will consistently continue on the path we have chosen with the Northwest Alliance - and certainly not lose sight of the next round of excellence." Bremen's rector Jutta Günther said: "We will stick to the vision and goals of the Northwest Alliance." The cooperation is to be expanded together with the partner university Groningen.
Without the funding, however, according to them, millions will be missing for new professorships in common research areas. Bremen's Science Senator Henrike Müller emphasized that the collaboration with Oldenburg is on a reliable basis that will continue beyond the competition.
Five new locations receive funding
The universities of Freiburg, Jena and Cologne as well as the associations of the Rhine-Main universities of Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Mainz and the Ruhr University of Bochum and the Technical University of Dortmund were selected as locations of excellence. This means that all five possible new places were awarded out of eleven applications. The decision was announced by, among others, Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär (CSU) and Mohrs as chairwoman and deputy chairwoman of the Joint Science Conference.
From January 2027, a total of 15 locations of excellence will be funded, including the ten locations already confirmed in March. 208 million euros are available for this annually. Because all five new places have been filled and almost all locations have applied for the maximum amounts, the annual funding amounts applied for must be reduced by an average of around a fifth for the next seven years, according to the Science Council and DFG.
Cluster funding remains in place
The funding for the Clusters of Excellence that has already been approved remains unaffected by the rejection. As the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science explained in advance, the six Lower Saxony clusters will be funded from the beginning of 2026 for seven years until the end of 2032.
Unlike funding entire universities, clusters support individual research areas. To apply as a university of excellence, at least two funded clusters were required, and at least three for a network. Oldenburg and Bremen together had four.
