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 clearly focused priorities that boasts a top-tier research landscape for a broad range of disciplines. The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics conferred on Klaus Hasselmann is representative of Hamburg’s outstanding research achievements in its priority areas and clusters of excellence. The successes are the result of the collaboration of Hamburg’s universities with renowned non-university research institutions and with the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). Providing targeted support for the universities and research institutions and for their collaboration with each other remains one of the primary goals of Hamburg’s science policy.
Through its contracts for the future of higher education and teaching, Hamburg is boosting the importance of science as a driver for its future viability as a metropolitan city. Four new initiatives will be incorporated into the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments in the areas of infection research, neuroscience, renal research and materials research as part of a joint venture with the University of Hamburg (UHH), the Technical University of Hamburg (TUHH), the UKE and non-university research institutions.
With the German electron synchrotron DESY, which is the world’s leading accelerator centre (FLASH, PETRA), and with 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). At DESY, a project to build a next-generation X-ray light source, PETRA IV, is in the pipeline. PETRA IV will revolutionise imaging on the atomic level and open up completely new opportunities ranging right across the board from basic research to application-oriented and industrial research, thereby strengthening Germany as an innovation location.
Another science policy goal is to intensify networking between science, business and society. The relevant funding measures aim to stimulate scientific, technological and social innovations. One of the aims of the Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS) is to find sustainable solutions to pressing social issues by engaging with numerous stakeholders. The RIS prioritises the five innovation topics of healthcare, climate and energy, mobility, data sciences and digitalisation, and materials science and novel materials.
Through constant modernisation and the expansion of its research infrastructures, Hamburg aims to meet the demands of both highly competitive research and modern teaching and learning. At the Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld research campus, collaborations between universities, non-university institutions and companies in research, education and the area of transfer and innovation will be intensified. With the development of an entire city neighbourhood centred around science, research is becoming a central part of life at the location.
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.