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Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg strive to promote excellence!
The universities of Bremen and Oldenburg plan to apply as universities of excellence in order to receive up to 28 million euros annually.
Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg strive to promote excellence!
The universities of Bremen and Oldenburg have taken a decisive step towards exemplary cooperation in the field of science. On June 27, 2025, it was announced that both universities had submitted a declaration of intent for an excellence network to the Science Council in order to jointly meet the requirements for applying for the distinction as universities of excellence. This initiative, which was supported by the approval of four clusters of excellence on May 22, 2023, represents a milestone in the academic landscape of northwest Germany.
The application for excellence funding must be completed by November 12, 2023. If successful, the universities can expect annual funding of between 15 and 28 million euros from 2027. The final decision on the applications will be made in October 2024. In order to be successful in this process, the two institutions must ensure that there are at least three approved clusters of excellence, which is already ensured with the current cluster approvals.
Support from political actors
Lower Saxony's Science Minister Falko Mohrs praised the strong performance of the universities and emphasized the close cooperation between the two universities. This happened at a meeting on June 21, 2023, at which Mohrs, together with Senator Kathrin Moosdorf, supported the university management. Prof. Dr. Ralph Bruder, President of the University of Oldenburg, referred to the long-standing collaboration between the institutions, while Prof. Dr. Jutta Günther, Rector of the University of Bremen, emphasized social responsibility and the importance of cooperation in research.
This excellence network is supported by the four approved clusters of excellence, which will be funded for seven years from January 1, 2026. The focus of these clusters is promising and shows a broad interdisciplinary orientation:
| Cluster of Excellence | Theme |
|---|---|
| Hearing4all.connects | Hearing research |
| Mars perspective | Materials and production research |
| NaviSense | Animal navigation research |
| Ocean floor | Marine research |
Research focus and innovative approaches
For this purpose, the University of Oldenburg has submitted two specific applications for clusters of excellence. The first, “NaviSense,” focuses on animal navigation and studies how animals navigate over long distances. The findings from this cluster are intended to be incorporated into new technical applications that consider physical as well as biochemical and physiological processes.
The second application, “Hearing4all,” aims to provide personalized hearing support through the use of AI and medical innovations. This cluster tests data-driven solutions for hearing aids and deals with genetic causes of hearing loss as well as the social-communicative factors of hearing comprehension. The Hannover Medical School and the University of Hannover are also involved in this project.
The strong support from the federal and state governments, which provides 208 million euros annually for universities of excellence, will also help to further promote cooperation between universities. This funding represents an increase of 60 million euros compared to the previous phase, which underlines the ambitions of the two universities to establish themselves in the national and international research environment.
This makes it clear that the universities of Bremen and Oldenburg can not only look back on decades of collaboration, but also want to set new trends through innovative research in a future-oriented manner. The success of these efforts is expected to positively impact not only education but also society.