07
Feb
2025
share page
The universities in the state are the drivers of innovation that Lower Saxony needs as a centre of business and science. To enable them to build on their strengths, sharpen their profiles, position themselves even more strongly internationally in future and intensify strategic partnerships, the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture and the Volkswagen Foundation have launched the largest funding initiative in the history of the state of Lower Saxony to date with “Strategically Developing Potential”. Under the umbrella of the joint programme zukunft.niedersachsen, universities in the state will receive a total of 265 million euros.
All 20 state universities in Lower Saxony took part in the funding initiative “Strategically developing potential“. The applications were assessed by an international panel of experts based on clear criteria such as the degree of innovation, economic and scientific leverage of the concepts, promotion of skilled labour, and planned collaborations. The aim is to further develop the strengths of the universities and provide targeted support for forward-looking projects.
Funded projects: Examples of innovation and future-orientation
The Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg plans to strengthen its excellent research, in particular by specifically tapping potential in the humanities and social sciences and networking both within the university and internationally. In close cooperation with its partner university in Groningen, the university aims to establish itself as an innovation centre in the north-west and an academic bridgehead to the Netherlands. The focus is on digitalisation and academic career development. The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences will conduct research into personalised medicine, better development opportunities for premature babies, and diversity-conscious healthcare. It will receive 22.5 million euros for this.
Overcoming traditional academic boundaries and creating a comprehensive, collaborative research system is the goal pursued by the Technische Universität Braunschweig. The Ecoversity approach is intended to bring research, industry, politics, and society closer together and enable researchers to work across disciplines. Initially, the TU is tackling the areas of biomedical research (“BrightBrain”) and sustainable, adaptable spaces (“ReSpace”) with a funding amount of 22.5 million euros.Mehr Infos dazu im Magazin-Beitrag der TU.
Leuphana University Lüneburg is dedicated to fundamental transformation processes in science, industry, and society. Democracy, sustainability, digital culture, organisation, and psychology are the central areas of transformation research. In addition, an innovative doctoral and guest researcher programme is being launched. A new Leuphana Transformation Lab will bundle and coordinate interdisciplinary and international cooperation with regard to the conceptualisation and substantiation of transformation knowledge. Total funding in an amount of 18.5 million euros is being made available for this.
Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur
Presented the selected projects and goals of the funding initiative to the press: Lower Saxony's Minister of Science Falko Mohrs, Dr. Susanne Menzel-Riedl, Chair of the State Rectors' Conference of Lower Saxony, and Dr. Georg Schütte, Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation (from left to right).
The HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen wants to establish a university-wide and sustainable infrastructure based on artificial intelligence (AI). Among other things, this consists of a networked Advanced Innovation Network (AIN) and three future-orientated Capability Labs (CapLabs). In cooperation with the University of Göttingen, the AIN will promote the AI-supported digitalisation across all areas of the university and establish a joint “Göttingen Informatics Campus”. The multidisciplinary CapLabs serve to develop and implement solutions for future challenges in the areas of health, green engineering, and education. It has 14 million euros in funding at its disposal for this purpose.
16.25 million euros will go to Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, which intends to further expand its position as a research-strong university of applied sciences in Lower Saxony in order to actively shape social change. The focus is on measures that strengthen its research and transfer activities and link them with new concepts for studying, teaching, and administration. The university will place a particular focus on future topics in the areas of “Agriculture and Food Systems, Landscape and Urban Development”, “Health, Society, Economy” and “Sustainable Technologies and Processes”.
“
“Developing potential strategically” gives universities a unique boost to break new ground in research, teaching, and training.
Lower Saxony's Science Minister Falko Mohrs
Hannover Medical School (MHH) wants to strengthen its leading position in patient-oriented research with the help of 20 million euros to achieve sustainable success in the age of personalised medicine. In order to continuously develop innovations in precision medicine, two new virtual centres are being created for pioneering diagnostic and therapeutic approaches at molecular and cellular level.
The proposal of the University Medical Center Göttingen (funding amount: 18.5 million euros) focuses on networking its four primary research areas of molecular cell biology, neuroscience, cardiovascular medicine and oncology under the new, innovative cross-organ and cross-disease priority ‘Metabolic Plasticity’. This is intended to strengthen joint research activities and support outstanding scientists at all career levels. In addition to networking and talent development, a particular focus is on the deeper integration of technology transfer in order to quickly make new findings available to society.
Lower Saxony’s Science Minister Falko Mohrs on the zukunft.niedersachsen funding initiative: ‘What will our world look like in 10, 20 or 50 years? How will we live, work and research? Many developments in science – such as advances in AI – can be predicted today. Others will only emerge in the future. That’s why we want to establish a broad and high-profile research landscape, attract the brightest minds to Lower Saxony and strengthen our economy with innovative impulses. We are investing so that the universities are even better positioned for this than before: “Developing potential strategically” gives universities a unique boost to break new ground in research, teaching, and training. At the same time, “Developing potential strategically” expands what already makes our universities strong today and secures our prosperity: Shaping the future with the right innovations and the right specialists.’
Overview of the amounts approved
- Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg: 22,5 Mio. Euro
- Hochschule der Bildenden Künste (HBK): 5 Mio. Euro
- Hochschule Emden/Leer: 5 Mio. Euro
- Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst (HAWK) Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen: 14 Mio. Euro
- Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover (HMTMH): 11,75 Mio. Euro
- Hochschule Hannover: 16,25 Mio. Euro
- Hochschule Osnabrück: 16,25 Mio. Euro
- Jade Hochschule Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth: 7 Mio. Euro
- Leibniz Universität Hannover: 22,5 Mio. Euro
- Leuphana Universität Lüneburg: 18,5 Mio. Euro
- Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (MHH): 20 Mio. Euro
- Ostfalia Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft: 5 Mio. Euro
- Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover: 14 Mio. Euro
- Technische Universität Braunschweig: 22,5 Mio. Euro
- Technische Universität Clausthal: 5 Mio. Euro
- Universität Osnabrück: 16,25 Mio. Euro
- Universitätsmedizin Göttingen: 18,5 Mio. Euro
The Georg-August University of Göttingen will receive 15 million euros, subject to the continuation of the strategy by the new university management. The University of Hildesheim Foundation and the University of Vechta were asked to sharpen their proposals.
Dr Georg Schütte, Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation, commented on the evaluation: ‘With their high-quality assessment, the independent experts have held a mirror up to us. Now we know how the universities in Lower Saxony are positioned in international comparison. And we have a well-structured roadmap for advancing Lower Saxony as a centre of science in a targeted manner.’
