Presidents of DFG and HRK recognise the agreement between federal and state governments on university funding

7. June 2019

After the 'Future Contract' and the 'Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation' was signed by the Federal Chancellor and the heads of the federal states yesterday, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK, Hochschulrektorenkonferenz) thanked those responsible for their joint effort for universities.

HRK President Prof Dr Peter-André Alt: "The fact that both pacts have been signed at the highest level by the federal and state governments highlights their importance. The 'Future Contract' is an important breakthrough in that the federal government has made a long-term commitment to higher education. For their part, the state governments have shown a willingness to compromise and flexibility and thus made this achievement possible in the first place. The 'Future Contract' and the long-term strengthening of the DFG on the basis of the 'Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation' are very clearly perceived by the universities as encouragement and action geared towards objectives and the issues at hand."

DFG President Prof Dr Peter Strohschneider: "We are very much appreciative of the fact that this agreement has been reached in times of major political shifts. The decision to provide sustained support to universities in this way is a brilliant financial move. We see this as a sign that high-quality research and academic training have been recognised by policy-makers as a crucial prerequisite for tackling key future challenges. In effect, public investments will be made that will ideally pay off in the medium and long term."