Thanks to its outstanding scientists and researchers and its unique research infrastructures – not least because of its acquisition of funding for four Clusters of Excellence and the distinction of the University of Hamburg as a University of Excellence – Hamburg is a science and research hub with a first-class research landscape and a range of priorities that is as broad as it is specialised. The successes to date are largely due to intensive cooperation between Hamburg’s universities and a large number of renowned non-university research institutions. Supporting these collaborations in a targeted manner – including through state research funding – will remain a key priority of Hamburg’s science policy.
Through its contracts for the future of higher education and teaching, Hamburg is boosting the special importance of science as a driver for its future viability as a metropolitan city. Hamburg’s funding policy also includes expanding the development of the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) as a top location for university medicine – a focus that was intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. A new cluster of excellence is to be established in the field of infection research in a joint venture with the University of Hamburg and non-university institutions.
The Cluster of Excellence ‘Climate, Climatic Change, and Society’ and the numerous scientific institutions involved in climate research at the location form a unique network. Their activities in this field received special acknowledgement when the 2021 Nobel Prize was conferred on a Hamburg climate researcher.
As the site of the German electron synchrotron DESY as the world’s leading accelerator centre (FLASH/FLASH II, PETRA III) and the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility (XFEL), Hamburg has a broad spectrum of light sources available for basic physics research as well as for structural/systems biology (CSSB, EMBL) and materials research (HEREON).
Another science policy goal is to intensify networking between science, business and society. Technological and social innovations will be facilitated through targeted funding measures. The Regional Innovation Strategy 2021 provides Hamburg with a leading-edge framework to achieve this.
Similar to existing business clusters, science clusters are being established as part of the state’s innovation funding: An economic innovation ecosystem of start-ups, technology centres, branch offices and transfer facilities is to be created around excellent scientific fields with high transfer potential. The activities of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Hamburg, with its specialist focus on logistics, production technology, nanotechnology, and energy and health research, also form part of this context.
With constant modernisation and the expansion of its research infrastructures, Hamburg aims to meet the demands of highly competitive research as well as modern teaching and learning. At the Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld research campus, collaborations between universities and non-university institutions in research, education and the area of transfer and innovation will be more firmly strengthened.
Hamburg will continue to make intensive use of the opportunities offered by digitalisation for research, education and transfer activities, pursue the development of cutting-edge technologies and ensure high-quality education and training for young professionals.