Joint declaration by the Executive Board of the Saxony State Rectors' Conference, the Thuringia State Rectors' Conference and the German Rectors' Conference: The federal states of Thuringia and Saxony have elected new parliaments. In the coming weeks, the elected members of parliament will come to an agreement on the formation of a government. It is important for science and universities that university autonomy and academic freedom are preserved. Only in this way, science can realise its full potential for the economy and society.

Sustainable development is increasingly taking centre stage in the strategic orientation of universities. They are setting up sustainability competence centres, appointing sustainability officers and committing to sustainability in their mission statements. In this context, the HRK now launches the pilot phase for the Sustainability at Universities audit. The new advisory service is intended to systematically support universities in the further development of their sustainability strategies, goals and activities.

For 15 years, the Audit "Internationalisation of Universities" offered by the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) has been supporting German universities in developing and enhancing their specific international profile. In this anniversary year, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), the University of Hildesheim, the University of Education Freiburg and Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart are to start the HRK Audit. The voluntary audit process combines elements of self-reflection with expert external consulting and is tailored precisely to the profile of the individual university.

Anja Steinbeck, Rector of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, will remain spokesperson of the Universities Member Group in the HRK and in this capacity also Vice-President of the HRK. A legal scholar, she was elected for a third term of office in the elections to the spokespersons' board of the Member Group. Prof Dr Volker Epping, President of Leibniz University Hannover, was once again confirmed in office as deputy spokesperson of the Group.

On 23 May 2024, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) published a discussion paper on the preparation of the 10th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation of the European Union (EU), which is due to start in 2028. It presents guiding principles and initial thematic considerations which, from a German perspective, should characterise the future design of European research funding. The HRK welcomes the BMBF's initiative. The HRK also believes that EU research funding must continue to be placed on an open and excellent footing.

The HRK will join the National Chapter of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) as a guest, thus increasing its engagement with the efforts to reform research assessment at European level. The HRK General Assembly decided to take this step at its meeting. Through its guest status as an associate member in the German National Chapter of CoARA, currently organised by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the HRK intends to promote the exchange of information on reform goals and measures relating to European research assessment with the higher education members and non-members of CoARA as well as with other German and European scientific organisations.