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The HRK welcomes the KMK proposal on a network of excellence in science and higher education - Federal government and the states need to reach agreement quickly on elite support
The Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK) proposal on specifically promoting top-rate science and higher education in Germany by establishing new structures and providing additional funding was fundamentally welcomed by HRK President Professor Dr. Peter Gaehtgens in Berlin today. "Support for high-performance fields of science and research and for even closer networking between excellent institutions is the right way to go." However, he continued, it was absolutely necessary to give universities these additional funds quickly which, besides promoting top-class scientific achievement, also facilitate the sustainable continuing development of the institutional infrastructure. Only autonomous, potent universities which serve as focus points for networks could, said Gaehtgens, ensure the national visibility of scientific excellence. And this included providing the requisite freedoms, especially as far as human resources, financial management and student selection were concerned.The Hochschulrektorenkonferenz equally approved the fact that outstanding achievements in teaching and in the promotion of the young generation are also to be made into components of the planned networks of excellence, along with the field of research. While, the HRK's call for the funding allocation process to be guided solely by the needs of science and higher education is to be met by the planned creation of an international review body and the involvement of the German Research Foundation (DFG).
HRK Secretary-General Ebel-Gabriel pointed out that the coming budgetary planning process means that agreement on an overall concept needs to be reached between federal government and the states by the middle of the year. It was to be welcomed, she said, that the KMK had acknowledged that an additional need for financial resources existed. However, the amount still had to be clearly specified. Reliability and planning certainty based on clear agreements in the states were, she continued, decisive prerequisites for the successful development of the higher education institutions.
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