University of Hamburg: Four new clusters of excellence for groundbreaking research!

University of Hamburg: Four new clusters of excellence for groundbreaking research!

From January 2026, the University of Hamburg will receive significant financial support of up to around ten million euros per year for each of its four existing clusters of excellence. These clusters, which are part of the Excellence Strategy, are: “Climate, Climatic Change, and Society” (CLICCS), which specializes in climate research, “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter”, which explores photon and nanosciences, “Quantum Universe”, which covers a wide range from mathematics to particle physics to astrophysics, and “Understanding Written Artefacts”, which deals with manuscript research. The decision on funding was made by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Joint Science Conference (GWK). It confirms the success of the university, which received the title of excellence in 2019 and is therefore the only university in northern Germany that can call itself a university of excellence uni-hamburg.de reported.

The University of Hamburg also plans to actively participate in the new “BlueMat” cluster of excellence at the Hamburg University of Technology, which underlines its research strength. Dr. Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of Hamburg, and Katharina Fegebank, Second Mayor, expressed themselves positively about the funding and the prospects it creates for the city's scientific landscape. Prof. Dr. Hauke ​​Heekeren, President of the University of Hamburg, emphasizes the international visibility and expertise associated with this funding.

The strategy behind promoting excellence

The Excellence Strategy, which was initiated by the federal and state governments in 2016, aims to strengthen Germany as a science location in international competition. In addition to the highest quality in teaching and research, it particularly promotes the networking of institutions in the science system. As part of this strategy, universities can apply for the so-called university flat rate in order to improve their organization. This is a further development of the Excellence Initiative, which was carried out from 2007 to 2017 and has already led to outstanding research achievements such as bmbf.de summarized.

The universities must be regularly re-evaluated in order to be able to demonstrate their excellence. A key point is the acquisition of at least two clusters of excellence, which is the case for the University of Hamburg. The competitive nature of the funding is intended to ensure that scientific performance is continuously increased.

Financial framework conditions

In total, around 385 million euros are available annually for the clusters of excellence, with 75 percent coming from federal funds and 25 percent from state funds. The financial framework for the next few years also includes funding of 539 million euros annually for up to 70 clusters of excellence, which documents the willingness to make long-term investments in top research in Germany.

While the University of Hamburg receives funding for its four Clusters of Excellence, the “Gateways to Health” application was not funded, but still received recognition for its scientific concept. This recognition shows that the university is on an excellent path and will continue to play an important role as a research location in the future.