Guiding ideas and measures

Scientific breakthroughs often emerge where different disciplines, methods, and perspectives come together. The University of Jena is therefore creating new spaces and instruments for disciplinary and interdisciplinary research.

Initiating and supporting collaborative research consortia

Start-up funding will support researchers in establishing new collaborative research consortia and further developing existing areas of strength. The aim is to create the conditions for future Collaborative Research Centres, Research Training Groups, and Clusters of Excellence. International guest researchers will be systematically integrated into the University’s research structures.

Idea Labs for new research ideas

Idea Labs provide flexible support for new disciplinary and interdisciplinary research approaches. In workshops, symposia, and other formats, researchers can develop, test, and advance ideas into viable projects. In addition, Pioneers’ Grants support innovative projects, including work on monographs, and the preparation of larger funding proposals.

Expanding Core Facilities

Shared research infrastructures will be developed into high-performance Core Facilities. They will improve access to state-of-the-art equipment, data, and methods for all researchers, foster collaboration across sites and disciplines, and provide particular support for researchers in the early stages of their careers.

Establishing the Digital Academy

The Digital Academy will systematically harness the potential of digitalization across all research and research-support processes. It will support the use of data analysis, artificial intelligence, simulation, and high-performance computing in research and teaching, strengthening the digital transformation of the University of Jena as a core element of research excellence and long-term institutional resilience.

The future of excellent research depends crucially on attracting, developing, and retaining outstanding researchers at the University—from undergraduate study through to professorship.

Strategic appointments and international recruitment

A strategic appointment fund and accelerated procedures will strengthen the University’s competitiveness. Enhanced international recruitment and an expanded Dual Career Service will make it easier for researchers and their families to settle in Jena.

Strengthening academic career paths

The Graduate Academy will be developed into a Graduate & Leadership Academy. It will bring together advising, qualification, mentoring, and leadership development across all career stages, from pre-doctoral training to professorship. New offers—including a mid-career tenure-track model, pre-doctoral fellowships, and leadership development—will create transparent and predictable career prospects.

Expanding research-oriented and interdisciplinary teaching

The Academy for Research-oriented Interdisciplinary Studies and Education (ARISE) will bring research, teaching, and personal development closer together. Students will gain early access to research projects, mentoring, summer schools, laboratories, and interdisciplinary study programmes. The Honours Programme will be expanded and the international orientation of teaching strengthened.

Promoting equal opportunities, diversity, and belonging

The University will further develop its approach to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. DEIB guidelines, leadership training, improved conditions for women in key positions, and flexible resources will strengthen a diverse, equitable, and inclusive university culture. A CommUNIty Office will coordinate the relevant services and participation formats.

Research creates new knowledge and contributes to solving societal challenges. The University of Jena is therefore strengthening exchange with society, culture, politics, and business and developing new pathways from research results to application.

Embedding societal impact

The Centre for Research and Societal Impact (CRSi) will provide an institutional foundation for societal engagement and participatory research. The EngagementARENA, dialogue and participation formats, and opportunities to develop engagement skills will bring researchers together with partners from Jena’s civic community, culture, business, and politics. The FORUM communication and dialogue centre, whose construction is funded by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung, will become a visible venue for exchange and public dialogue in the heart of the city.

Promoting technological and social innovation

An Innovation Academy will provide students and researchers with skills in innovation, knowledge transfer, and entrepreneurship. A One-Stop Transfer Hub, innovation scouts, makerspaces, and incubators will support the journey from research idea to application, start-up, or social innovation. Strategic intellectual property management will create transparent and reliable conditions for patents, licenses, and spin-offs.

The University of Jena is firmly rooted in the region and connected to a wide range of international partners. These partnerships will be strategically coordinated and deepened to generate greater value for research, teaching, and societal impact.

Developing the Jena Global Campus

The Jena Global Campus will bring together the University’s international activities and develop selected partnerships into long-term strategic alliances. Joint research projects, appointments, doctoral programmes, degree programmes, and mobility formats will strengthen international competitiveness. Various funding lines will strategically involve international partners in developing solutions to global challenges.

Professionalizing alumni, friends, and fundraising management

The University’s international alumni and friends community will be developed as a network of ambassadors, partners, and supporters. Professional relationship management, new fundraising formats, and stronger links with business, venture capital networks, and society will generate additional resources for research, teaching, and knowledge transfer.

Excellent research requires reliable, learning-oriented, and flexible structures. The University of Jena is therefore strengthening its organizational culture and developing governance and administration in line with the needs of research, teaching, and knowledge transfer.

Strengthening dialogue, community, and sustainability

Community Management will create permanent spaces for exchange, participation, and shared responsibility. Staff and research dialogues, a university-wide participation forum, and the Campus Dialogue will foster trust and collaboration across disciplines, units, and sites. The Green Office will be developed into a Sustainability Office responsible for advising, monitoring, reporting, and securing external funding.

Adaptive governance and agile administration

The Governance Lab will test new forms of collaboration, steering, and resource allocation under real-world conditions. Impact Teams will analyse and improve key administrative processes and digitize workflows. The potential of artificial intelligence will also be harnessed.