‘A beacon in our strong research landscape in Baden-Württemberg’

‘With our overall strategy “Vision 2040”, we are pursuing the goal of organizing our research, teaching, and transfer so that research findings provide orientation on the big global issues and lend fresh impetus for new solutions. To this end, we also aim to put the University in a position to develop dynamically and take on an even more active role in shaping developments in society, industry, and politics’, emphasized Prof. Dr. Kerstin Krieglstein, Rector of the University of Freiburg. ‘Our current proposal in the Excellence Strategy gives us new momentum for this endeavour.’ The University of Freiburg will publish its ‘Vision 2040’ in the context of its proposal for the second funding line of the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments. The funding line decides on whether the University achieves the status of ‘University of Excellence’. The University of Freiburg will submit its proposal on 12 November 2025.

Rector Krieglstein emphasizes: ‘The Excellence Strategy is a key instrument for developing the University of Freiburg further as a place for scientific reinvigoration. This involves attracting outstanding researchers and supporting them in their development. Our special focus lies on providing reliable prospects for talented researchers at the early and middle stages of their careers. Just as important to us is strengthening our international cooperation and partnerships and extending our global networks. Our research excellence and innovative capacity, our unique range of disciplines, and our long academic tradition offer the basis for this.’

The state is committed to providing the University targeted support on its journey, stresses Minister Petra Olschowski: ‘We’re convinced that the University of Freiburg has good chances of succeeding in the competition with an outstanding proposal and a convincing review. As a University of Excellence, Freiburg can further enhance Baden-Württemberg’s international visibility as a centre for science and research and provide a strong impetus for innovation, transfer, and the recruitment of excellent talent. That serves to make our state fit for the future.’

On the guided tour, researchers, teachers, and students introduced the minister to core topics for the University of Freiburg’s future. The main focus was on questions that will define the orientation of research and teaching in the coming years, such as: How can students in the European higher education space benefit from joint teaching and prepare themselves for the demands of a complex job market? How can forests be made resistant to climate change and pests? How can researchers decipher the language of life, for example in order to develop novel immune therapies? And how can we make artificial intelligence responsible so that it serves humans?

Teaching with European perspectives

Prof. Dr. Frieder Vogelmann, professor for epistemology und theory of science at the University College Freiburg (UCF), explained how international and interdisciplinary degree programmes open up new learning paths. With the UCF’s ‘Liberal Arts and Sciences’ bachelor’s degree programme and the European EPICUR network, Freiburg is developing models that have a part in shaping the European higher education space. The main emphasis is on training students in critical thinking to prepare them for complex global challenges beyond national and disciplinary boundaries.

Protecting forests as a basis for our existence

Tenure track professor Dr. Kathrin Blumenstein, holder of Germany’s first professorship for the pathology of trees, and her team showed how forests can be made more resistant to climate change and pests. Their research focuses on fungal pathogens and how they interact with different host species, as well as their effects on the health of forests. As members of the Cluster of Excellence Future Forests, approved for funding in May 2025, Blumenstein and her colleagues from environmental and forest sciences, biology, medicine, and philosophy are helping to develop scientifically grounded strategies for sustainable ecosystems – with the aim of protecting forests as a basis for our existence and that of future generations.

Understanding the language of life

Tenure track professor Dr. Priscilla Briquez, oncoimmunologist, and plant scientist Dr. Elke Barbez presented their research foci. They include new approaches for therapies against cancer as well as breeds of plants designed to secure agricultural yields in the long term. Both of these researchers are members of the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS, which was extended for a second funding period in May 2025. They are working together with researchers from biomedicine, plant science, chemistry, data science, and ethics to decipher the foundations of biological communication and harness their innovative potential. The example of EMUNO Therapeutics illustrated how their research can be transferred to practical applications: The CIBSS spin-off is developing novel medicines that can use the immune system of patients to fight cancers.

Responsible AI and robotics

In the Responsible Artificial Intelligence network, the jurist Prof. Dr. Silja Vöneky and the computer scientist Prof. Dr. Joschka Boedecker are collaborating with colleagues from law, computer science, medicine, and philosophy to determine how artificial intelligence can be developed, regulated, and used responsibly and flexibly. One example they used to illustrate their work was a robot demonstration from the ReScaLe project: The robot is a practical example of how AI-driven systems can support humans in everyday life. The main focus of the interdisciplinary work is on developing customized guardrails for technological innovations, thus making them fit for use by society.