Making contacts

Kiel University presented itself and Schleswig-Holstein as a region for research at the autumn meetings of the German Council of Science and Humanities. The President of Kiel University presented research institutions and outstanding projects in her keynote speech.

As the most important advisory body on research policy, the German Council of Science and Humanities offers recommendations to the research sector, the Federal Government and the federal states. Together with the German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Council of Science and Humanities is also responsible for assessing the German excellence competition. The advisory body meets four times a year at various university locations throughout Germany. Kiel University (CAU) was the host university for the autumn meetings in 2021.

Decisions and positions

The Wissenschaftliche Kommission (scientific commission) met and later the general meeting of the German Council of Science and Humanities was held at Kiel’s Ostseekai. Among the subjects they discussed were scientific communication, accreditation and re-accreditation of private universities. One outcome of the discussions was a position paper on scientific communication. This included recommendations on the transfer of scientific content to society and the exchange of ideas on this. According to the paper, researchers are not sufficiently prepared for the new communication requirements and they require high-quality support for this. Further research may help to identify suitable measures, it suggested.

Spotlight on networking in cutting-edge research, education and transfer

The reception put on by the CAU as the host university at Kunsthalle zu Kiel provided a framework for networking between members of the German Council of Science and Humanities and guests from government, regional state research institutions and Kiel University. In her keynote speech, Professor Simone Fulda, President of Kiel University and herself member of the German Council of Science and Humanities from 2012 to 2018, took this opportunity to highlight Schleswig-Holstein as a region for research. Representatives of various universities, clusters of excellence and research groups provided real insights into their work through short video sequences and also demonstrated the importance of successful cooperation between institutions. “Kiel University regards itself as the central stakeholder in research and society within the region and beyond,” said the CAU President. “As a state university, it was important to us to show the most important advisory body on research policy of the Federal Government and the federal states that we and our partners in the state government of Schleswig-Holstein all pull together. We work jointly to find solutions to the major social challenges of our time, such as climate change, the energy transition, health and social inequality.”

Author: Christin Beeck