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Two professors receive an ERC grant, one of the highest endowed awards of the European Research Council. Engineering scientist Andreas Fischer and marine scientist Jan-Hendrik Hehemann will each receive around 2 million euros for their research. The European Research Council thus supports excellent researchers in their innovative basic research.

How innovative are drugs that are newly launched on the market really? This question was investigated by the University of Bremen in cooperation with Techniker Krankenkasse (TK). For the Innovation Report, 200 new active ingredients were evaluated over eight years.

Professor Gerd Glaeske and his team at SOCIUM – Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy, compiled the Innovation Report 2021. The result: 99 out of 200 drugs, and thus almost half, do not represent an improvement for patients. The researchers from the University of Bremen classify only 26 active ingredients, or 13 percent, as genuine innovations.

Many older people need help with the accelerated world of digitalization. A study carried out by the university’s Institute for Information Management Bremen (ifib) has investigated for the first time what support older “offliners” and also “onliners” need on a communal level. For the first time, a Bremen study has investigated whether the services offered to date actually correlate with the needs and if all older people can participate in the digital world in this way. “Our broad assessment clearly shows that the said services do not suffice as they only reach some of the senior citizens,” says Professor Herbert Kubicek, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Information Management Bremen (ifib), University of Bremen.

Researchers have been honored for their work, as they laid important foundations for today’s software solutions for quantum computers. Their paper was created as part of a student project at the University of Bremen over ten years ago.

“The award has confirmed the pioneering work that we carried out in this field at the University of Bremen 15 years ago,” says Professor Rolf Drechsler, head of the Cyber-Physical Systems research area at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).

It is an important step from basic research to technology transfer: The EU will provide Professor Rita Groß-Hardt and her team, together with KWS - one of the world's leading plant breeding companies, and potato breeder Aardevo, with highly regarded funding of around 2.5 million euros.

The aim is to use three-parent crosses in plants to establish a new breeding strategy for agriculture. In times of climate change, the project can make an important contribution to solving the challenges of the future.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) will continue the CRC 1342 "Global Development Dynamics of Social Policy". This will encompass funding around 15 million euros for the next four years. The second funding phase will begin on January 1, 2022. The research projects address the core question: Who benefits from social security and to what extent?

Professor Yasemin Karakaşoğlu from the University of Bremen received the Federal Republic of Germany’s Order of Merit together with seven other women and seven men at Bellevue Palace.

The Bremen educationalist has been honored as she has been committed to supporting refugees, the integration of immigrants, as well as standing up for women’s rights, interreligious dialog, and better education opportunities.

Praise for the university in the current CHE Ranking: Master’s degrees in mathematics, computer science, and physics receive great marks. Additionally, students praised the university’s management for information management during the corona crisis.

At the corner of Leobener Straße and Hochschulring, the new Center for Deep-Sea Research (ZfT) is being built. Located next to the University of Bremen’s MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, research into fundamental deep-sea processes will be conducted. The center’s research focus is primarily on questions related to the climate crisis and the roles of the oceans and deep sea in explaining global climate processes.

Researchers from the University of Bremen actively contributed to the coordination and formulation of the concept paper “Polarregionen im Wandel,” which has now been submitted to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, which wishes to invest an additional 20 million euros in polar research.

They remain unbeatable: For the eighth time, B-Human – the team from the University of Bremen and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) – were able to win the world championship in robot football. The tournament took place digitally due to the pandemic. The Alumni of the University of Bremen association is one of the supporters of this unique project since many years.

The University of Bremen Foundation has received quality certification for its good management of trust foundations. In total, ten organizations were awarded the certification for quality and transparency in the field of trust foundation management.

In their seminar “Film Education in Public Spaces” (“Filmvermittlung in öffentlichen Räumen”), 15 students worked on the topics of film education and city development and created a film festival for the former port district of Gröpelingen. On each second Friday from July 2, to August 27, feature films and documentaries will be shown at different locations in the former port district Gröpelingen. A supporting program with live music and art installations will begin at 8:30 p.m.

Great success for the University of Bremen: The Collaborative Research Center “Everyday Activity Science and Engineering” (CRC EASE) will receive a further four years of funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG). The decision supports the expansion of AI-based robotics in Bremen.

When the topic is start-up support, the University of Bremen is one of the top universities in Germany. In the current “Gründungsradar 2020” (Start-up Radar 2020) ranking from the Stifterverband, the university places 11th among the big universities.

Professor Veronika Eyring from the Faculty of Physics / Electrical Engineering received the renowned Leibniz Prize on March 15, 2021. The fact that the most important German research award goes to Bremen once again underlines the research strength of the university.

Outstanding work with a high level of relevance for the retail and consumer goods industry: Professor Michael Beetz, head of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IAI) at the University of Bremen, has now been honored for this with the Science Prize from EHI Stiftung and GS1 Germany.

Those who are employed or unemployed or anything in between have the possibility to use regular bachelor and master modules for their professional or personal further training and can simply turn their office or living room into a lecture hall. Among others, there are offers in the field of ‘IT, digital media, and digitalization.’ Alumni receive a 5 % discount on all events. An online information session providing details on content and perspectives will be held on March 3 (5-6 p.m.). (German only)

What a great distinction for the project ‘Bremer Kultursommer Summarum’ of the network VIS-A-VIS for culture and sustainability. The award for excellent voluntary commitment has been given out by our corporate member Sparkasse Bremen for more than ten years. Renate Heitmann, director of the bremer shakespeare company, and Astrid-Verena Dietze, Bremen-Neustadt district manager, initiated the cultural program of 300 events taking place between June and the end of August at thirty extraordinary venues. In doing so, they provided alternative performance opportunities during the coronavirus crisis for artists, especially from the fields of dance and theatre. The first place comprises a 3000 Euro cash award for the VIS-À-VIS network.

Frauke Meyer took on the role of administrative head of the University of Bremen on January 1, 2021. Her term in office will last eight years. The trained businessperson and financial controller took on the leadership of the Administrative Unit for Finance Controlling when it was established in 1995. The 51-year-old has also been the head of the Administrative Department for Third-Party Funding and Personnel Budget at the university since 2014. “Frauke Meyer has acquired great recognition through her expert knowledge and integrative leadership style”, according to State Councilor for Science Tim Cordßen.

In times of the pandemic, science is demanded and required as seldom before. The latest issue of the scientific magazine Impact illustrates some of the research topics within the U Bremen Research Alliance. In ‘Improved Shopping with Artificial Intelligence,’ this issue reports on the connections between retail and online trade; ‘Fighting COVID-19 more effectively,’ deals with the NFDI4Health Task Force COVID-19; and ‘Time Bombs on the Seabed’ is about the remnants of two world wars in the North Sea. (German only)

The University of Bremen’s career-orienting mentoring program ProMentes will start again in September. For ten months, experienced managers from economical, cultural, and administrative fields will be available for students in the final phases of their degree in order to advise and accompany them with their knowledge and experience while the students plan their entry into their career. You can apply now. (German only)

The University of Bremen is one of three German universities awarded a Google Faculty Research Award. Professor Tanja Schultz won in the competition with her project ‘EMG-to-Speech: Direct Generation of Speech from Facial Electromyographic Signals.’ (German only)

How can digital media such as videos or social media be used in teaching the sciences? This question is dealt with by the lecture series Didaktik:digital of the Joaching Herz foundation. Further support has been received in order to develop new concepts in teacher training.

Four Bremen-based scientists are among the most influential experts in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) worldwide. That is the result of a ranking conducted by the renowned Tsinghua University in China. The ranking is based on an analysis of articles for the most important publications and conferences in the field over the last ten years. (German only)

Computer Science Professor Tanja Schultz has been named IEEE Fellow starting on January 01, 2020. The honorary membership of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is presented to people with an exceptional performance and signifies a high distinction for the University of Bremen.

The University of Bremen has obtained a fund of 2.2 million Euro from the German Research Foundation (DFG), in order to build a system for 3D laser metal deposition. Equipped with the most innovative measurement technology, the high-tech device provides data for the scientific understanding of the underlying processes during powder mixing and conveying as well as the actual laser metal deposition.

When working relatives take on family care for a longer period of time, they face a substantial loss of wages. That is the result of a study conducted by the SOCIUM Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy of the University of Bremen and the German Center of Gerontology Berlin. (German only)

The University of Bremen will be the host of the world’s most important conference on coral reef ecosystems in July 2020. The symposium with about 2,500 participants will take place in Europe for the first time and is the largest conference in marine sciences hosted in Germany so far. In preparation of an exhibition, a photo contest is held. The deadline for photo submissions is on February 29.

Prof. Dr. Ivo Mossig attracted attention across Germany with his new teaching concept of the ‘introductory project’ module. The geologist was awarded a special prize in Kiel for his idea of having his students conduct independent research as early as the first semester of their Bachelor. (German only)

In September, together with the Hans Riegel Foundation, Professor Thomas Hoffmeister, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bremen, congratulated students from the Carl von Ossietzky Schulzentrum in Bremerhaven, as well as the Freie Evangelische Bekenntnisschule, the Alte Gymnasium, the Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium, the Gymnasium Horn, and the Gymnasium Hamburger Straße in Bremen. (German only)