Ulm University celebrates 58 years of innovation and cutting-edge research!

Ulm University celebrates 58 years of innovation and cutting-edge research!

On February 14, 2025, Ulm University celebrated its 58th anniversary with a festive Dies academicus in the research building N27. Around 10,000 students and 1,800 graduates joined the celebration, which honored outstanding achievements in teaching and research. Numerous awards, including doctoral awards and the Harald Rose Prize for the biochemist Julia La Roche, were awarded. Professor Michael Weber, President of Ulm University, also announced the opening of two new research incubators: OptiReg for tissue regeneration and MUST for statistical data analysis.

Ulm University specializes in four profile areas: Green Energy, Quantum Science and Technology, Life Long Health, and From Data to Knowledge. The offer of new courses, such as the Master in Business Informatics and the Master in Clinical Psychology, shows the university's commitment to offering contemporary and future-oriented education. Also worth noting is the number of 500 doctorates in 2024 and around 1,000 research projects that will be carried out at the university every year.

Clusters of Excellence and funding

The university was recently recognized as part of the federal government's excellence strategy. A cluster of excellence for battery research, entitled “Energy storage beyond lithium – new storage concepts for a sustainable future,” will be funded with up to 10 million euros annually for the next seven years. Professor Maximilian Fichtner, spokesman for the Cluster of Excellence, expects that more than 50 new positions will be created in Ulm. Ulm University submitted the application together with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The research focuses on alternative charge carriers, such as sodium, magnesium and zinc, to support environmentally friendly energy storage technologies.

At the same time, the university submitted another application to the federal government's excellence strategy, which made it to the next round. The “Chem4Quant” application outline aims to develop atom-precise material structures for quantum technologies. Researchers from chemistry, physics, computer science and materials science are involved in the interdisciplinary project to develop innovative quantum architectures that will play a crucial role in future quantum internet technologies.

Importance for the region

The positive developments at Ulm University not only contribute to scientific excellence, but also to combating the shortage of skilled workers in the region. With 1,800 graduates last year, the university makes a relevant contribution to securing skilled workers in various areas. The university is currently in 7th place in the StudyCheck ranking of the most popular universities in Germany, with 96% of those surveyed would recommend the university to others. However, the slightly lower number of students in 2024 remains a challenge, although this is accompanied by an increasing number of first-year students, 2,336 in total and 7% more than in the previous year.

In summary, it can be said that Ulm University not only excels in teaching and research, but also acts as an important driver for innovation and economic development in the region. The preparations for a future university of excellence, based on the developments from the clusters of excellence, will be closely monitored, as the decision on clusters of excellence will be made on May 22, 2025.

Ulm University is well on its way to playing a decisive role in shaping the profile of science and research in Germany and remains an important place for education and innovation.

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