The German Research
Landscape and Funding Opportunities
Academia Sinica, Taipei, 18 June 2012
Dr. Stefanie Eschenlohr (徐言)
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Taipei
Most important – more
information
Research Portal:
www.research-germany-de
launched by German Ministry of Education & Research
(BMBF), provides an comprehensive overview on
German Research Landscape
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Content
 The German Research Landscape
 Current Developments in Science and Research
 Funding Opportunities
The German Research Landscape
Different players
 Research at institutions of Higher Education
 Non-university research facilities
 Industrial research
Higher Education Institutions
Institutions of Higher Education
 105 universities (including Technical
Universities )
 211 Universities of Applied Sciences
(only applied research in close
cooperation with industry )
Features of German universities

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Unity of research and teaching
Broad range of subjects
Theoretical orientation of research
German institutions are mostly
“public” (國立) and administered by
the 16 “Laender”.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (May, 2011)
Higher Education Institutions
 Education in Germany is administered by
the individual
federal states!
There is no Federal Ministry
of Education
German universities enjoy
high degree of autonomy
 Rules and regulations
differ from state to state and
university to university!
Tution fees for first degree
only in Bavaria and
Niedersachsen
German research universities – a
word on global rankings
German universities don‘t rank top in international rankings:
 THEWUR 2010:
 U Goettingen 43, LMU Muenchen 61, Heidelberg 83;
 14 German universities among „top 200“ (71 USA, 29 UK,
11 Netherlands)
 ARWU 2010:
 LMU Muenchen 52, TU Muenchen 56, Heidelberg 63,
Goettingen/Bonn 93
 39 German universities among top 500
German research universities – a
word on global rankings
A few comments:
 Rankings focus on whole institutions not on fields;
German institutions often have strengths in some
specialized areas
 Non-university research is not included in rankings. 16
Nobel-Prize from Max Planck-Institutes since 1948; 35
MPG-researchers are included in ISI-list of most cited
scientists.
 Only publications in English language in internationally
refereed journals are considered (Engineering, social
sciences often published in German)
 Germany is a leading nation in patents and export of
high-tech products
German Universities - National
Research Rankings
German University Research/Excellence Ranking:
www.che-ranking.de:
Project CHE Excellence Ranking: a university
ranking for a selected group of European universities
for the subjects: biology, chemistry, economy,
psychology, Math, physics, political Science
http://www.excellenceranking.org/eusid/EUSID
Humboldt-Foundation Ranking (Ranking of
German universities/ research institutions that are
most attractive to Humboldtians international
scientists) http://www.humboldtfoundation.de/web/press-release-2009-20.html
DFG-Funding Ranking (based on DFG-funding
granted to universities)For institutions and specific
subject areas. www.dfg.de
Excellent non-university research
institutions

Max Planck Society

Helmholtz Association of National
Research Centres
www.mpg.de
www.helmholtz.de

Leibniz Association

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
www.wgl.de
www.fraunhofer.de
Excellent non-university research
institutions
Max Planck Society
www.mpg.de

The Max Planck Society (MPG) is an independent, non-profit research
organisation named after the world-famous physicist Max Planck (1858–
1947).

With its focus on basic research in the natural sciences and humanities,
the MPG complements research projects at universities. The MPG is wellknown for its excellence in research.

Seventeen scientists at the MPG have received the Nobel Prize.
Facts and Figures:


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80 institutes and research centres
Staff: 16,873
Budget: 1.5 billion €
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster
Research budget (Source: MPG)
Excellent non-university research
institutions
Helmholtz Association of National
Research Centres
www.helmholtz.de

The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres provides top
scientific achievements to society, science and industry for addressing
the major challenges of today.

The Helmholtz Association is the largest scientific organisation in
Germany. Its work follows the tradition of the great natural scientist
Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894).

Scientists in 18 Helmholtz Centres work on a wide variety of topics in
areas ranging from health, the environment and energy to fundamental
research such as elementary particlephysics.
Facts and Figures
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Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
A Research Centre of the Helmholtz Association
18 research centres
Staff: 31,745
Budget: 3.4 billion €
Research Budget (Source: Helmholtz)
Excellent non-university research
institutions
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
www.fraunhofer.de

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft conducts applied research for both private
and public enterprises, as well as for the general benefit of the public.

The association takes its name from Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787–
1826), the illustrious Munich researcher, inventor and entrepreneur.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the largest organisation for applied
research in Europe. It conducts research under contract for industry, the
service sector and public administration and also offers information and
services.
Facts and Figures

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Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM)
Kaiserslautern
80 research facilities
Staff: 18,000
Budget: 1.6 billion €
Research Budget (Source: Fraunhofer)
Excellent non-university research
institutions
Leibniz Association
www.wgl.de

The Leibniz Association is the umbrella organisation for 86 research
institutions which address scientific issues of importance to society as a
whole.

The Leibniz Institutes conduct research and provide infrastructure for
science and research and perform research-based services – liaison,
consultation, transfer – for the public, policy-makers, academia and
business.

The Berlin Museum for Natural History (Museum für Naturkunde), one
of the ten largest scientific collections in the world, is a prominent
example of a Leibniz Association member.
Facts and Figures:
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86 institutes and research facilities
Staff: 16,800
Budget: 1.4 billion €
Research Institute and Museum for Natural History Berlin
Research Budget (Source: Leibniz)
Excellent non-university research
institutions
 Federal research institutions/
Departmental research
(40 institutes funded by the Federal
Ministries, staff: 19,000)
 “Länder” institutions
(118 research organisations funded
by Germany’s federal states/“Länder”,
staff: 4,000)
 Academies of Science
(about 10 publicly funded organisations)
Intensive Industrial Research
 Almost 70% of the research investments in Germany are
spent by the industrial sector (approx. 45 billion euros)
 Numerous industrial research facilities and companies are
closely cooperating with universities and other research
institutions (networks and clusters)
 The German Federation of Industrial Research Associations
(AiF) promotes research and development in all industry
sectors
 Industries strong in research: Automobile industry, electrical
engineering, chemical industry and mechanical engineering
Expenditure on Research
and Development
Research expenditure 2009 (in total):
66,7 billion euros
Universities
Max Planck Society
Helmholtz Association
17,6 %
Fraunhofer -Gesellschaft
Leibniz Association
other public or private
research institutes
Source: Federal Statistical Office (preliminary numbers for 2009)
67,5 %
Industry
Basic and Applied Research
Applied
Research
Industry
FraunhoferGesellschaft
Leibniz Association
Helmholtz
Association
Basic
Research
Universities
Max Planck Society
Public
Funding
Private
Funding
Content
1. The German Research Landscape – Overview
2. Current Developments in Science and Research
Current Developments in
Science and Research
 High-Tech-Strategie launched by
the Federal Ministry of Education and
Research …
to encourage the development of lead
markets, enhance cooperation between
science and industry, and improve
framework conditions for innovations
Definition of 5 lead markets and priorities
 Climate and Energy
 Health and Nutrition
 Mobility
 Security
 Communications
Current Developments in
Science and Research
Which projects are currently funded by DFG?
Get an overview on Clusters of Excellence,
Research Centres, Collaborative Research
Centres, Research Training Groups ….
http://gepris.dfg.de/gepris
20 new Collaborative Research Centres
were established in May 2012, e.g:
And more …
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/df-de2052912.php
Source: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Current Developments in
Research and Science
Excellence Initiative
Objectives:
 Promote top-level research
 Improve the quality of German universities
and research institutions
 Increase Germany’s international
competitiveness
Financial background:
 Total of 1.9 billion euros in the first programme phase between
2006 and 2012
 A further 2.7 billion euros in the second phase until 2017
Source: German research Foundation (DFG)
Excellence Initiative
9 German universities with excellent future concepts
 LMU Munich
 TU Munich
 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
 Free University of Berlin
 RWTH Aachen
 University of Göttingen
 University of Heidelberg
 University of Freiburg
 University of Konstanz
Excellence Initiative
3 project-oriented funding
lines:
 Research schools for young
scientists offering structured PhD
programmes in excellent research
environments
 39 graduate schools
 Excellence clusters establishing
internationally visible and
competitive research beacons at
universities
 37 excellence clusters
 Future concepts for top-class
research at universities to further
enhance the profile of the selected
universities
 9 future concepts
Source: German research Foundation (DFG)
Content
 Funding Opportunities
 Current Developments in Science and Research
 The German Research Landscape