The DEAL Consortium and scholarly publisher Wiley today announced the signing of a new five-year agreement which will allow scientists from German academic institutions to publish their research open access (OA) within Wiley’s portfolio of scientific journals. Instituted by the Alliance of German Science Organizations the DEAL Consortium is open to more than 900 mostly publicly funded academic institutions in Germany. Signed by Wiley and MPDL Services gGmbH as the DEAL Operating Entity, the new agreement will begin in January 2024, offering further support for the needs of the scholarly community and accelerate the open access transformation.

Today in Berlin, the General Assembly of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) elected or re-elected seven Vice-Presidents each for a two-year term. In accordance with the HRK Rules of Procedure, the terms of office of all university leaders elected to the Executive Board by the General Assembly automatically end at the end of November following a presidential election. Professor Dr Walter Rosenthal was elected as the new HRK President in May 2023.

Career Service Netzwerk Deutschland e. V. (csnd), the association of career services at German universities and academic institutions, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. At the annual conference the anniversary provides an opportunity not only to take stock, but also to look ahead.

In a statement, HRK President Walter Rosenthal welcomed today's news that the European Commission and the British government have reached an agreement on the UK's association to Horizon Europe. “The decision is very good news”, Rosenthal said, “for British research institutions and universities, as well as for international academic relations as a whole.”

The DEAL Consortium, representing the German research institutions, and Elsevier, a global leader in scientific information and data analytics, are delighted to announce a transformative open access agreement for Germany. The landmark five-year agreement, signed on 1 September by Elsevier and the DEAL operating entity, MPDL Services gGmbH (MPDLS), is set to run until the end of 2028 and is designed to make a large part of German research openly accessible worldwide.

The HRK and the German National Association for Student Affairs (DSW) are jointly appealing to the federal government to promptly tackle the structural reform of the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) announced in the coalition agreement and to provide the necessary funds in line with demand. Otherwise, the two organisations believe, this central instrument for greater educational equality will soon loose its purpose completely, because fewer and fewer students benefit from funding.