Revolution for Saarland University: Over 1 billion euros for innovation!

Revolution for Saarland University: Over 1 billion euros for innovation!

On September 30, 2025, the Ministry of Finance and Science and Saarland University signed a groundbreaking target and performance agreement that applies to the years 2026 to 2029. This agreement represents an important step in the dynamic development of the university and the university hospital and aims to strengthen Saarland as a science location. According to information from uni-saarland.de More than one billion euros were made available for this purpose, which marks a new record for the university.

The financing consists of various components: Around 875 million euros will be provided as basic financing, while 25 million euros will flow into a “performance budget”. In addition, 115 million euros are planned for research and teaching at the university hospital. This performance budget is used specifically to support increasing numbers of graduates, promote start-ups and acquire additional third-party funding. SR.de reports that the country also provides 20 cents for every euro raised above and beyond the average annual third-party funding of 75 million euros.

Focus on future and development

University President Ludger Santen emphasized the relevance of high-quality, innovative teaching and internationally visible research priorities. In this sense, among other things, the study conditions and the welcoming culture should be improved. The Minister of Finance and Science, Jakob von Weizsäcker, also emphasized the need to create attractive career paths in science and promote internationalization.

The agreement is the result of careful dialogue between the university and the state. Santen described the goals set as ambitious and aims to compensate for demographic disadvantages through increased internationalization. The resources provided by the state could, like this SR.de, will increase by an average of 3.4 percent per year until 2029, which is closely linked to the desired performance targets.

University financing is changing

The current target and performance agreement takes place against the background of a fundamental change in university financing in Germany. hrk.de highlights that almost 90 percent of universities' funding comes from public sources, with the majority, around 75 percent, being provided by the states. However, countries are increasingly having difficulty securing sufficient basic funding while demand for higher education studies continues to grow.

The federal government's influence in university financing was increased by the higher education pact between the federal and state governments in 2007 and the amendment to the Basic Law in 2015, which granted the federal government expanded co-financing rights. The federal government is focusing on targeted financial incentives to support teaching without interfering with basic funding. This is demanded by the University Rectors' Conference, which considers such a turnaround in university financing to be necessary.

The target and performance agreement of Saarland University not only reflects the development of an individual institution, but also shows the efforts to strengthen Saarland as a university location in the context of the nationwide challenges of university financing.