The funding earmarked for education and research in the new seven-year EU financial framework and the “Next Generation EU” coronavirus recovery plan have thus far failed to meet expectations and future requirements in the view of the DAAD, DFG and HRK. The three science organisations therefore welcome the EU Parliament’s cross-party call for improvements to ensure more innovation and successful crisis management.

German students in the USA are facing an uncertain future due to the new visa rules in the coronavirus crisis. The US immigration agency ICE had announced last week that foreign students who were participating exclusively in online courses at an American university would have to leave the country – or face deportation. The Presidents of the HRK and DAAD have sounded a warning about the consequences.

HRK-President Peter-André Alt has made the following comments regarding today’s announcement of the further 24 European university alliances funded by the EU: “All universities participating in the selected European networks are to be congratulated. With 20 universities participating in 18 of the selected alliances, Germany’s presence is even more gratifying than in the first round. A total of 15 German universities were involved in 14 of the 17 networks in that round. This is an impressive achievement."

The Senate of the HRK has unanimously affirmed its commitment to making health protection an absolute priority in the organisation of the upcoming winter semester. It was completely undisputed that universities are and want to be attendance-based institutions – now and in the future. However, it considers the call for an immediate return to face-to-face contact to be inappropriate given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Academic standards in teacher education are non-negotiable for cross-sector and lateral entry into teaching. This was stressed by the Senate of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) in a resolution issued, which noted that there should not be any “second-class teachers” with quality and acceptance issues due to inadequate further education.

The University of Chicago and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) will present a virtual conference on free expression. “Freedom of Expression: On the Culture of Debate at Universities” will examine the state of free debate and open discourse at universities in the United States and Germany, in light of recent controversies on many campuses and their political ramifications. Legal and academic scholars will explore questions such as whether there are limits to free speech and the best ways to protect the principles of free expression.