University of Tübingen Achieves Significant Success in Excellence Competition
The University of Tübingen has mastered the first stage of the current federal and state excellence competition with great success. “Six of our initiatives for the establishment of new clusters of excellence have been asked to submit a so-called full application today,” said the university’s happy rector, Professor Karla Pollmann, on Friday: “This means that Tübingen is once again one of the most successful universities in Germany and underlines its position as a place of Top research nationally and internationally.”
The following cluster initiatives were invited to submit a full application:
The paleoanthropological initiative HUMAN ORIGINS aims to integrate biological and cultural perspectives into the study of human development and thus create a new conceptual framework for the study of human origins, which is intended to replace the previously prevailing fragmentary study of the fossil and archaeological record.
The TERRA initiative is about interactions between stability and diversity of the geosphere and biosphere. The aim is to understand how these interactions in terrestrial systems react to environmental changes and in turn influence them.
The GreenRobust initiative in the field of plant biology will investigate plant adaptation responses to external influences in order to understand the organizing principles of plant robustness (i.e. maintaining function despite adverse circumstances) and derive insights for the sustainable management of plant ecosystems and agrosystems. The application is a joint project between the University of Tübingen and the Universities of Heidelberg and Hohenheim.
The neuroscientific initiative The Fe/male Brain aims to research the mechanisms that mediate the influence of biological and social gender on brain function and behavior as well as on the expression of psychological and neurological disorders. Basic and translational research should enable the development of gender-sensitive, individualized therapeutic approaches.
In the Bionic Intelligence for Health (BI4H) cluster project, an interdisciplinary research team combines the neural and physical intelligence of the human body with a fundamentally new approach to intelligent technology. The aim is to better recognize neuronal diseases, treat them adaptively and thus improve the quality of life of those affected in everyday life. To this end, new technical systems should be intelligently integrated with the body. The cluster project is a joint initiative of the universities of Stuttgart and Tübingen.
The Critical Proximities initiative examines various forms of coexistence and cooperation. For this she uses the concept of “critical proximity”. The aim is to answer the question of how and under what conditions closeness is ‘critical’, why coexistence sometimes takes forms of peaceful coexistence, cooperation and willingness to compromise, but on the other hand can lead to conflict and confrontation. This approach also enables a substantive and theoretical reconceptualization of the fundamental ideas of difference that have long been dominant in the humanities and social sciences.
Existing clusters also remain in the race to promote excellence
The Rector emphasized that the existing Tübingen research clusters would also without exception submit a follow-up application to ensure funding for a further seven years: “Thanks to the successful work of the researchers involved, I am sure that all three clusters in the areas of infection research and cancer research and machine learning have excellent chances of future funding.” If the international experts confirm this, the way would also be clear for the University of Tübingen to apply for further funding as a university of excellence.
In the first selection round, a total of 41 cluster initiatives nationwide were asked to submit a full application. In 2018, the University of Tübingen was able to obtain excellence funding for the three research clusters “ Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections ” (CMFI), “ Image-guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies ” (iFIT) and “Machine Learning: New Perspectives for Science”. The funding currently runs until 2025 and could be extended until a maximum of 2032. Every university needs at least two clusters in the future funding phase in order to be able to apply for institutional funding as a university of excellence. The final decision on the clusters will be made on May 22, 2025, and the decision on the universities of excellence will be made in September 2026.