History

• Books and Film on History of the University
• Founded in times of social reform
• Consolidation in the 80s – travelling along the road to success
• More History

The University of Bremen is a young university. It was founded in 1971 for the purpose of teacher training. What was to become known as the “Bremen Model“ was conceived in times of social reform. Its core elements apply to this day and it was these basic principles which first made the subsequent research success possible: Interdisciplinary orientation, research-based learning in teaching projects, orientation to the practice and social commitment. Some new guiding principles have been added since: Internationalization of teaching and research, equal gender opportunity, and environmental responsibility.

Following the founding of the University ― as an “academic complex” on the outskirts of the town ― and a number of reforms at the beginning, a period of consolidation set in through the nineteen eighties. The University of Bremen grew in size. New faculties for natural science and engineering were established, the University started a cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Ocean Research in Bremerhaven, and the Technology Park was created (1988).

The University of Bremen also began to score its first successes with the establishment of Collaborative Research Centers (in 1988 the University was accepted into the German Research Society - DFG) and the acquisition of substantial external funding. Steadily improving research rankings, growing national and international recognition and a large number of endowment professorships were the visible fruits of this success.

The University advanced this success further by establishing a set of new guiding principles. Among other things, the University concentrated efforts on the promotion of young research talent and implemented personnel development programs for its young researchers, many of whom were awarded professorships in the wake of the generation change that was taking place.

In addition to all this, teaching and studies at the University of Bremen underwent considerable change: A new admission policy, for instance, with program-specific enrolment requirements, and the swift transition of study programs to Bachelor and Master Degrees. The reward for this commitment came with the title “City of Science 2005”, awarded to Bremen and Bremerhaven as result of joint efforts on the part of science, politics, culture, and the enterprise sector.

Today, some 25,000 people study, teach, research and work at the University of Bremen. It has become the center of science and research in the North West of Germany, particularly renowned for its strengths in the natural and engineering sciences as well as the social sciences and the humanities. The work carried out by its excellent researchers, many of whom of world renown, provides an important stimulus to societal development.

As the outstandingly favorable outcome of its showing in the excellence initiative underscores, the University is not content to bathe in past success and simply rest on its laurels. As a “learning organization“, it is constantly adapting the role it intends to play in the present and future research and academic landscape.

For an overview of the University’s history go to central archives.

In 2011, to mark the occasion of the 40th anniversary, the Temmen-Verlag published the book “Universität Bremen – 40 Jahre Bewegung” (University of Bremen – 40 Years of Ongoing Change). The journalist and alumni of the University of Bremen, Peter Meier-Hüsing looks back over the past four decades: not sparing with his criticism, he also writes with empathy and humor.

You can also read more about the history and development of the University of Bremen in the magazine which appeared in 2006 on the occasion of the University’s 35th anniversary: Magazin[PDF] (1.9 MB).