Lower Saxony is looking for the title Eliteuni: Three universities in the race!

Lower Saxony is looking for the title Eliteuni: Three universities in the race!

Lower Saxony is ambitious to establish elite universities again by 2027. The Science Minister Falko Mohrs (SPD) expressed optimistic assessments based on the successful applications for cluster of excellence. In this competition, the Hannover Medical School (MHH), Leibniz University Hannover and the Carl of Ossietzky University Oldenburg compete to break through the supremacy of the sustainably established universities in south and western Germany. Mohrs emphasized that at least one excellence university has to be achieved.

In the comparison of the federal states, Lower Saxony ranks in a divided fourth place in the excellence initiative and has achieved six successful clusters from a total of nine research projects, while three applications were empty. A total of 98 funding applications nationwide were selected 70 clusters of excellence, which receive a funding amount of around 539 million euros per year. These funds are provided over a period of seven years by 75% of federal funds and 25% from state funds.

success and challenges of the Lower Saxony universities

The three Lower Saxony universities who have received excellence clusters are:

• Leibniz Universität Hannover: "Phoenixd: Optik & Photonik"
• Medical University of Hanover: "Resist - Defense weaknesses towards infections"
• Carl by Ossietzky University Oldenburg: "Navisense: Ternavigation"

The Leibniz University Hannover was able to secure complete financing for all three of its applications, while the MHH cheered on two successful clusters. The President of Leibniz University, Volker Epping, described the services as a "world class". In order to become the desired Elite University, at least two clusters of excellence are required and the competition is hard: 15 universities compete for five places in the entire federal territory.

upcoming applications and perspectives

While Leibniz University and the MHH separate the title of the University of Excellence, the University of Oldenburg plans to design its application in the association with the University of Bremen and the University of Groningen (Netherlands). The Technical University of Braunschweig and the University of Göttingen remains a drop of bitterness, which with their applications did not receive the required encouragement. In particular, the University of Göttingen has been disappointed with the failure of the “Multiscale Bioimaging” excellence cluster. Minister of Science Mohrs announced a detailed review of the causes of the failures.

Overall, the clusters of excellence are not only regarded as a measure to increase the research performance, but also as an engine of innovative strength for the state of Lower Saxony, which has so far not been able to demonstrate an elite university. The next steps will be decided in October 2026, which means a great opportunity for the Lower Saxony universities to secure their competitive position in the national and international university system.