Germany's Excellence Initiative: Progress through competition among the strongest research universities

摘要

An internationally competitive science and research landscape is an expression of a nation's future viability. For this reason, and especially in light of the global financial crisis, Germany continues to invest sustainably in education and research. In 2010, Germany spent over 230 billion euros on education, research and science — around 9.5 per cent of our gross domestic product. In 201 2, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) alone increased its investments in education and research by 1 1 per cent. German research organizations such as the Max Planck and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft institutes have been guaranteed a yearly budget increase of 5 per cent until 201 5. We are maintaining major higher-education initiatives such as the Higher Education Pact and the Teaching Quality Pact. And in June 201 2 we announced the latest winners of one of Germany's most important research funding mechanisms: the Excellence Initiative.