Information on the University of Excellence competition
Why the University of Jena is applying for the title of University of Excellence—and how we can succeed
A flag with the slogan "Light. Life. Liberty" in front of the main university building
On May 22, the funding of two Clusters of Excellence at the University of Jena was announced: The continuation of the “Balance of the Microverse” cluster, which has been funded since 2019, and the new cluster “Imaginamics. Practices and Dynamics of Social Imagining”. With two clusters, the University of Jena fulfills the requirements for applying to the “Universities of Excellence” funding line and has the opportunity to demonstrate the excellence of the university.
Thanks to the outstanding commitment of its staff, the University of Jena has established itself as an international center for top-level research in recent decades. The close and appreciative cooperation within the university as well as the strong regional roots and cooperation with partners from science, business and society has become an internationally recognized model for the cooperative development of innovative solutions to the pressing challenges of our time.
By applying to become a University of Excellence, we have the opportunity to demonstrate our excellence - which is based on the outstanding commitment of the university's staff and students - together!
Two young female researchers at work in the laboratory
Image: Anna Schroll (Universität Jena)The University of Jena is keen to develop further, to try out new things, and to strengthen what is going well. The "University of Excellence" label gives universities greater visibility in the national and international competition for researchers at all career levels, students and employees, and helps to expand cooperation in science and with the industry. This is a great opportunity for the future success of our University.
Universities of Excellence receive annual funding of between 10 and 15 million euros. The additional budget would provide financial leeway to sharpen the academic profile of the University of Jena, create scope for outstanding research, open up better career prospects for young researchers, enhance the attractiveness of the University as an employer and improve the campus experience for all members of the University. As with the "Balance of the Microverse" Cluster of Excellence, additional funded positions also mean a wider range of courses for students, designed by academics with an outstanding international reputation.
-
Balance of the Microverse
Two researchers from the "Balance of the Microverse" Cluster of Excellence at work in the lab
Image: Anna SchrollIn 2019, the Cluster of Excellence “Balance of the Microverse” began its work at Friedrich Schiller University. On May 22, 2025, the Cluster was selected for further funding until 2033.
The Cluster of Excellence “Balance of the Microverse” focuses on understanding microbial communities - their dynamics, their stability and their controllability. The researchers are investigating how microorganisms interact with each other in complex networks, which factors influence their balance and how such systems can be specifically stabilized. Microbial networks have a decisive influence on the health of humans, animals and the environment - their resilience to external influences is therefore of central importance.
In the new funding period, the researchers will further expand their interdisciplinary approaches. The focus will be on the resilience of microbial ecosystems and the development of innovative strategies for the sustainable control of microbial processes. Potential applications are opening up in environmental research, medicine and biotechnology. The emerging Microverse Center Jena on the Beutenberg will also provide the cluster with a new home - as a focal point for research, exchange and scientific innovation.
-
Imaginamics
Researchers from the Cluster of Excellence initiative "Imaginamics" sit and stand around a table and work together on a flipchart.
Image: Anna SchrollThe new Cluster of Excellence “Imaginamics. Practices and Dynamics of Social Imagining” has been approved for funding from January 1, 2026, but intensive work is already underway: The researchers are looking at what holds societies together at their core: shared ideas and narratives, world views and visions of the future - the social staple of every society, so to speak. “How we understand society, how we imagine the future and look to the past is currently undergoing drastic changes,” says Johannes Grave, Professor of Modern Art History and spokesperson for the new Cluster of Excellence. As the current crisis has shown, social imagining can not only bring people together and promote solidarity, but also create conflicts and divisions.
The cluster's research will not only focus on individual imaginative content, but will also concentrate on the process of imagining. In this way, the researchers aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of social imagination that combines approaches from the cultural sciences, humanities and social sciences with theoretical groundwork and well-founded empirical studies, thereby opening up cross-epochal and cross-cultural perspectives.
“Imaginamics” is supported by a network of strong regional cooperation partners, some of whom bring unique expertise to the topic. In addition to Friedrich Schiller University, the Bauhaus University Weimar, the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, the Ettersberg Foundation, the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora memorials, the Max Weber College Erfurt, the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society (IDZ) and academics from the universities of Halle and Erfurt are also involved. Through publicly visible projects and citizen science, the cluster will also seek dialog with society and make it the subject of its research.
-
University allowance
Universities with Clusters of Excellence can apply for a so-called university allowance (1,75 million euros annually) to strengthen their organization and strategic development. At the University of Jena, these funds are used to support the profile lines LIGHT, LIFE, LIBERTY, positions for early career researchers and projects for students such as Honours Program. In addition, international guests are invited to Jena as part of the Jena Excellence Fellowship.
Three researchers in conversation on a staircase
Image: Anna Schroll (Universität Jena)Ten universities and one university consortium have been funded as Universities of ExcellenceExternal link since 2019. Four new Universities of Excellence can be accepted in 2026. If current Universities of Excellence do not achieve the required number of at least two Clusters of Excellence or are assessed negatively as part of their review at the end of 2025, the vacant places can also be filled.
The new call for proposals for Universities of Excellence were announced on March 28, 2024. Based on the decision on the Clusters of Excellence in May 2025, new applications are expected to be submitted by 12th November 2025. Site visits will take place from March to July 2026 before the Excellence Commission makes its decision on the admission of new Universities of Excellence at the end of September 2026 (scheduleExternal link).
The University of Excellence proposal is divided into three parts:
- Status quo and preliminary work
- Planning and potential
- Data appendix
It is around 120 pages long and contains statements on all performance dimensions (research, teaching, transfer, research infrastructures) and cross-sectional dimensions (including support of early career researchers, equal opportunity, internationalization, digitalization, cooperation, personnel planning/recruitment/development) of the University.
The first part (status quo and prior achievements) is based on an analysis of strengths and weaknesses that looks at the University as a whole. The strengths of the University of Jena are, for example, the international visibility of the "Balance of the Microverse" Cluster of Excellence and the close networking with non-university partners. The outstanding achievements of its researchers are reflected, for example, in prestigious prizes and awards (including the Leibniz Prize, Future Prize, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize, Humboldt Professorship, ERC Grants).
Tobias Schwessinger, Dr
Präsidialamt
