On Monday, 26th of February, the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) invited the seven Berlin Clusters of Excellence and the three new Cluster initiatives to a networking event at Humboldt Lab with Berlin politicians, notably the Senator for Higher Education and Research, Health and Long-Term Care Ina Czyborra and the Major Kai Wegner.
The focus of the event was the previous achievements of the clusters and the plans for the second round of the federal and state excellence strategy.
With the visit, Wegner sent a clear signal of support in the ongoing excellence competition. “Science and research are of outstanding importance for Berlin. With currently seven clusters of excellence, Berlin is the front runner among German research locations. In the current round of the federal and state excellence competition, the partners of the Berlin University Alliance want to expand Berlin's position as a leading research location in Germany. On behalf of the Berlin Senate, I would like to thank everyone involved for their tireless commitment and assure you that the state is behind you and is looking forward to the next application phase with great confidence.”, he explained.
Dr. Ina Czyborra added “Clusters of excellence are powerful engines for the future of Berlin as an integrated research and innovation location. They enable unique research and cooperation conditions at our universities and strengthen Berlin's economy and society, especially in cooperation with the Berlin University Alliance, an excellence network. The state of Berlin will continue to provide the ten application consortia with the best possible support in the upcoming competition phase,”.
Read also the article in Tagesspiegel (in German) https://www.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/enthusiastisch-in-der-exzellenz-kai-wegner-sichert-berlin-university-alliance-unterstutzung-zu-11276581.html