Tradition, Innovation, Autonomy

Göttingen University’s institutional strategy was conceived on the basis of the university’s unique strengths, which include its long tradition of research in a vast variety of subjects, its close cooperation with first-class, independent research institutions in the area, and the autonomy it enjoys as a public law foundation. The overall goal of all proposed plans is to create a new form of what the Göttingen University was known for in the years prior to 1933: a world-class university that attracts and retains the most talented junior researchers, working together in a climate of cooperation and discourse, and spurring each other on to new heights of excellence. The institutional strategy encompasses four main projects. Brain Gain with its Courant Research Centres and independent Free Floater Research Groups represents an innovative means for attracting outstanding junior researchers by opening up career paths for the best among them. Brain Sustain, on the other hand, provides systematic measures to retain top-level researchers who have already become established. The Lichtenberg-Kolleg will raise the research profile in the Humanities and the Social Sciences. In addition, Göttingen International promotes the cooperation with universities all over the world by recruiting excellent students and young researchers from abroad.