More money for universities and permanent positions for young scientists

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Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP)

Photo: Andreas Gora/POOL/EPA

Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) has not often had the privilege of announcing good news during her almost one-year term in office.

So far, the minister has often had to deal with unpleasant issues: protests by the #ichbinhanna movement, cuts in research projects that are already planned and the sluggish payment of energy price aid for students from the relief package.

Stark-Watzinger was all the more pleased to be able to present the achievements of the Joint Science Conference (GWK), the coalition of science ministers from the federal and state governments who met in Munich.

Stark-Watzinger presides over the conference as an official.

The committee made four major decisions, said the minister.

“In difficult times, this is a good day for science in Germany.” That cannot be taken for granted.

What she didn't say: During the negotiations, Stark-Watzinger was confronted with the concentrated pressure of the federal states, which could agree on little better than the fact that the federal government had to keep its promises from the coalition agreement.

Excellence strategy is being expanded

The most important result: The "Future Contract for Studies and Teaching" will be extended and made more dynamic, as promised by the traffic light in the coalition agreement.

The federal and state governments agreed that the universities should receive an additional three percent of the funds annually from 2023 to 2027.

One exception: 2025, there will only be 1.5 percent - which shows how much the federal and state governments must have struggled with each other in the negotiations.

And linked the announcement to the appeal to the universities to use this additional money for permanent positions - and "to increase the proportion of women in science," said Stark-Watzinger.

That is "very important" to her.

In addition, the science ministers agreed to expand the Excellence Strategy (ExStra, formerly the Excellence Initiative).

In the future, up to 70 clusters of excellence could receive the coveted funding of around 7.7 million euros each with additional funds.

There are currently 57 Clusters of Excellence in Germany.

Constructive discussion atmosphere

"It's a billion-dollar package that was put together here, in a joint effort by the federal and state governments," said Bavaria's Science Minister Markus Blume (CSU) and co-chair of the GWK, "and for an absolutely right cause." As Federal Minister Stark- Watzinger also praised Blume for the constructive atmosphere of the talks.

"We struggled with each other, but we came to a conclusion."

There is also further funding for the 2030 women professors program, research into the corona pandemic and for the Nako health study, a major project to better understand widespread diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

This will continue until 2027.

200 euros from the relief package will only come »early 2023«

Stark-Watzinger said that the payment of 200 euros to every student was "difficult to manage from an organizational point of view".

There is no infrastructure to build on.

"There has never been such a payment to all students." They have spoken to various bodies: with the Federal Employment Agency, with the family benefit offices, with the KfW development bank - but without any result.

A “central platform” will now be developed together with the federal states in order to “hopefully be able to pay out the money very quickly at the beginning of 2023”, as the minister said.

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