University of Bremen

The University of Bremen is a medium-sized German university with around 18,000 students. Bremen offers a wide range of subjects and degrees for its committed and talented students: more than 100 master’s and bachelor’s degrees, as well as the state law exam. Moreover, with research-based learning, the university has reinterpreted project-based courses, a defining feature originating from when the University of Bremen was founded. As part of the European university network YUFE–Young Universities for the Future of Europe it is developing a new model for European higher education together with nine other universities. 2,300 academics (43% of which are female), among them 270 professors (32% of which are female), teach and carry out research in a wide range of disciplines. We have a long established tradition in interdisciplinary cooperation and excellent research in natural sciences, engineering, the social sciences and the humanities, as well as in teacher training. From 2012–2019, the University of Bremen with its future concept “Ambitious and Agile” was one of eleven universities that held the title “University of Excellence”. The issues of today’s and future societies are dealt with in five high-profile interdisciplinary research areas:Marine, Polar and Climate Research; Social Change, Social Policy and the State; Materials Science and their Technologies; Minds, Media, Machines, and Health Sciences. The marine sciences are particularly prominent with their Cluster of Excellence that has been continually funded since 2006. The university promotes diversity and has always encouraged innovative ideas and the independence of its early career researchers. Academics at all levels find a stimulating environment here. The university was successful in all rounds of the Programme for Women Professors and the Tenure Track Programme for the Promotion of Early Career Researchers and received the highest number of professorships from both federal programs. The university has a long-standing successful cooperation with the non-university research institutes in its immediate vicinity—this includes eleven institutes jointly funded by the federal government and the federal states—and since 2016, within the U Bremen Research Alliance. More than 50 so-called cooperation professors can testify to these close ties. The university takes its social responsibility seriously and fosters its activities with many groups and institutions in Bremen. We are not afraid to be the first to tread new territory: Founded as a reform university, we aim to breathe life into change. Our vision: to further anchor the University of Bremen as a leading European research university and an inspiring place of education. To achieve this, we rely on our strengths, on the potential of all university members, and on the trusting cooperation with our partners. Staff and students of our university were involved in developing our vision, mission, and our objectives for the upcoming decade. Based on this, in December 2017, the Academic Senate of the University of Bremen adopted the Strategy 2018–2028.