HRK Executive Board elections
The General Assembly of the HRK has elected two new members to the HRK Executive Board. Two Vice-Presidents were reappointed for a further two years.More
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Taking a stance against intimidation
HRK President Peter-André Alt has vehemently criticised the AfD website "Mein Prof hetzt": "This action is incompatible with the basic principle of academic freedom. Its objective is to intimidate and denounce professors that the AfD considers undesirable and to instrumentalise students for this purpose. I sincerely hope that this attack on the basic right to freedom of expression can be permanently halted through legal channels. To me, it is almost more important that not only science but society as a whole condemns such actions."
HRK Senate: Prevent publishing in “predatory journals”
In a statement issued today by the Senate of the HRK on so-called predatory publishers, the universities have affirmed their strong commitment to ensuring academic quality assurance. While the number of publications in such journals may be low in Germany, as in Europe as a whole and the USA, the HRK Senate fears that the phenomenon may pose a threat to the credibility of science and scholarship.More
Protest against events at German-Israeli Foundation
HRK President Prof Dr Peter-André Alt vehemently turned against the politically motivated rejection of Israeli scientist Yael Amitai during the appointment of replacements for the Scientific Advisory Committee of the German-Israeli Foundation (GIF): "On this occasion, the independence of science is being attacked. We cannot tolerate this." In saying this, Alt is showing support for the protests of the Association of University Heads, Israel (VERA) and numerous scientists. "Germany and Israel need to lay down clear rules for this important bilateral project," says Alt.More
DEAL and Elsevier negotiations: Elsevier demands unacceptable for the academic community
“The excessive demands put forward by Elsevier have left us with no choice but to suspend negotiations between the publisher and the DEAL project set up by the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany.” That was the verdict of the lead negotiator and spokesperson for the DEAL Project Steering Committee, Prof Dr Horst Hippler, the President of the HRK, speaking in Bonn, where the last discussion took place this week. “As far as we’re concerned, the aim of the ongoing negotiations with the three biggest academic publishers is to develop a future-oriented model for the publishing and reading of scientific literature."More
HRK on admission to medicine: Solution must not cost universities their autonomy
“If the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling is accommodated, but at the same time the autonomy of higher education is curtailed, this would do a great disservice to higher education.” This was the concern expressed by HRK President Horst Hippler ahead of the meeting of the University Committee of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK).More
