Exclusive insights: First Executive Dialogue at the University of Cologne!

Exclusive insights: First Executive Dialogue at the University of Cologne!

On April 3rd and 4th, 2025, the first Executive Dialogue took place at the University of Cologne, which promoted a new type of exchange between top decision-makers from business, politics and science. The aim of this format is to intensify the dialogue about social challenges and to strengthen the transfer of knowledge between research and practice. Almost 30 participants were present over the two days and were able to address key issues such as the shortage of skilled workers and maintaining a healthy, productive working population.

Discussions were held in the university's clusters of excellence, including in ECONtribute: Markets and Public Policy and in CECAD - Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research. Rector Professor Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee opened the event and gave a keynote speech in which he underlined the strategic positioning of the university. In order to promote exchange between the sectors in the long term, it is planned to hold the Executive Dialogue regularly in the future and to further develop it thematically.

Cluster of Excellence at the University of Cologne

The University of Cologne has four existing clusters of excellence and has submitted two additional full proposals. It is one of the most successful universities in Germany's Excellence Initiative, which was launched by the federal and state governments as part of the Excellence Strategy. This strategy aims to strengthen Germany as a science location and improve international competitiveness through cross-disciplinary research projects.

The university's clusters of excellence are:

• CECAD: Forschung zu Alterungsprozessen und altersbedingten Krankheiten, mit dem Ziel, neue Therapieansätze zu entwickeln.
• CEPLAS: Untersuchung der Pflanzenreaktionen auf Umweltveränderungen zur Verbesserung der Pflanzengesundheit.
• ML4Q: Forschung zu Quantencomputern und deren Anwendungen, insbesondere zur Entwicklung neuer Computer- und Netzwerkarchitekturen.
• ECONtribute: Der einzige Exzellenzcluster in Wirtschaftswissenschaften in Deutschland, der Antworten auf Herausforderungen wie Digitalisierung und ökonomische Ungleichheit sucht.

There are also initiatives such as “Sharing a Planet in Peril” and “Our Dynamic Universe”, which also focus on relevant social issues. Scientists at the University of Cologne work in close networks both within the university and with external institutions, such as the Max Planck Institutes.

Financing and future prospects

The Excellence Strategy, which was launched in 2016, is intended to increase the visibility and international influence of German universities. The funding of the clusters of excellence, which usually takes place over seven years, receives annual funding of around 385 million euros, financed by the federal and state governments. Currently, 57 clusters of excellence in Germany are supported. The next round of applications for a second funding phase begins in August 2024.

The University of Cologne, which has been part of the funded program since 2007, plans to continually expand its clusters of excellence in order to continue to promote scientific exchange and profile as an internationally competitive research institution in the future. All measures funded in the Excellence Strategy are designed to maintain and further develop German research and teaching at the highest level. uni-koeln.de reports that regular dialogues between different sectors therefore represent a crucial element in the university's strategy.