The University of Bremen's Excellence Strategy

Cutting-Edge Research and Social Responsibility

The University of Bremen is celebrating a historic double success in the current round of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments (2026 to 2032).

With the successful renewal proposal "The Ocean Floor - Earth's Uncharted Interface" and the successful new proposal "The Martian Mindset - A Scarcity-Driven Engineering Paradigm," two Clusters of Excellence will be funded at our university for the first time from January 1, 2026!

In their research, the cluster teams are tackling socially highly relevant topics that address challenges on our planet and beyond. They do this in interdisciplinary teams, which are regionally and internationally connected with strong research partner institutions and engage in close dialogue with society.

Cutting-edge research at the University of Bremen is not an end in itself: We work together across disciplinary, institutional, and national boundaries to develop answers to major questions of the future that affect and unite us all.

Excellent News: The Latest from Bremen's Cutting-Edge Research

Professor Kirsten Tracht, designated co-spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence “The Martian Mindset”; Professor Michal Kucera, Vice President for Research and Transfer; Professor Heiko Pälike, designated spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor”; Professor Jutta Günther, President of the University of Bremen; Professor Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Director of MARUM; Professor Marc Avila, designated co-spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence “The Martian Mindset” (from left to right).

Historic Success: University of Bremen Acquires Funding for Two Clusters of Excellence for the First Time

Scientists from the marine and materials sciences impressed the German federal and state governments in the Excellence Strategy: Two Clusters of Excellence have been awarded to Bremen. This also qualifies the university to apply for the title of “University of Excellence.”


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Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg Establish Northwest Alliance

The universities of Oldenburg and Bremen are jointly establishing the “Northwest Alliance.” A memorandum of understanding was signed by the university administrations and the heads of the Bremen and Lower Saxony science departments on the sidelines of the science ministers' conference in Berlin.


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Breaking New Ground Together: Academic Senates of the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg Meet

It is a first in the history of the two universities: The Academic Senates from Bremen and Oldenburg met together on December 11. At the meeting, which took place at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg in Delmenhorst, the university executive boards and the AS members discussed joint plans for the future.


Marc Avila and Katharina Brinkert

ZARM Has a New Dual Leadership Team

The Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) has now a dual leadership team. Together with Professor Marc Avila, Professor Katharina Brinkert is now serving as the director of the institute.


Stand von „Humans on Mars“ und dem Zentrum für angewandte Raumfahrttechnologie und Mikrogravitation (ZARM) auf der Messe Space Tech.

“Humans on Mars” at the Space Tech Expo Europe Trade Fair

From November 19 to 21, the “Humans on Mars” initiative will present its own research focus, as well as this year’s submitted cluster proposal for the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments.


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Mayor Bovenschulte Visits University of Bremen

Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte visited the University of Bremen to learn about current developments in the Excellence Strategy funding competition organized by the German federal and state governments.


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Prestigious ERC Starting Grant for Astrobiologist Cyprien Verseux

Astrobiologist Cyprien Verseux from the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity has been awarded the European Research Council's prestigious Starting Grant. For five years, he will be able to pursue a cutting-edge research project with 1.56 million euros.


Colorful coral diversity in the Red Sea.

New Concept for the Protection of Marine Biodiversity: The AGELESS Project

Human-made climate change is not confined by national borders. The AGELESS Consortium explores the question of how marine life affected by climate change can be protected beyond areas of national jurisdiction. The Federal Government funds the interdisciplinary project over a three-year period.


University of Bremen Enters the Race for Excellence with Two Clusters

The University of Bremen has submitted a full application and an application for continuation in the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Government. The university enters the race with its high-profile areas Materials Science and MARUM – together with the University of Oldenburg.


Personen auf dem Mars
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Bremen Materials Science Team Clears First Hurdle on the Way to Excellence Funding

The University of Bremen submitted three draft proposals for the establishment of new Excellence Clusters as part of the federal and state governments' Excellence Strategy. One research team has now been invited by the German Research Foundation (DFG) to submit a full proposal.


Cluster Approval Celebrations at the University of Bremen

Celebrating the Cluster of Excellence decision on May 22, 2025

At 5 p.m. on May 22, the German Research Foundation (DFG) announced its selection decision for the new Clusters of Excellence via live stream. The double success of our two clusters "The Martian Mindset" and "The Ocean Floor" gave rise to a small celebration and great joy!

Cluster reception at the Institute for Advanced Study in Delmenhorst on May 23

On the day following the decision, the management teams from the University of Bremen and Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, our partner in the Excellence process, hosted a joint reception for all four successful Clusters of Excellence of the Northwest Alliance. The celebration took place at the Institute for Advanced Study in Delmenhorst. In addition to the Bremen teams from "The Martian Mindset" and "The Ocean Floor," the Oldenburg researchers from "Hearing4all" and "NaviSense" were honored.

Clusters of Excellence & High-Profile Areas

Wissenschaftler bei der Forschung am Meeresboden

“The Ocean Floor” Cluster of Excellence

Since its establishment in 2019, “The Ocean Floor - Earth’s Uncharted Interface” Cluster of Excellence has been based at MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen. As of January 2026, the cluster team will continue its work together with the ICBM – Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment at the University of Oldenburg. In the cluster's upcoming second funding phase, the strong disciplinary expertise in deep-sea research that has developed over decades across northwestern Germany will be consolidated in an even closer manner. The aim is to create a marine region of excellence that will enable new scientific breakthroughs. The cluster investigates exchange processes on the ocean floor as an important and dynamic interface of the Earth system that plays a vital role in the functioning of our planet and its climate. The research findings will be of great importance for better understanding climate scenarios in a warming world.

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Satellite image: Mars in the foreground, Earth in the background

“The Martian Mindset” Cluster of Excellence

The second cluster to receive Excellence funding at the University of Bremen comes from MAPEX - Center for Materials and Processes. The cluster builds on the preliminary work of the Humans on Mars initiative that was established in 2021. The interdisciplinary cluster team includes researchers from the natural and engineering sciences, mathematics, behavioral sciences, and communications technology. Together, the scientists are adopting "The Martian Mindset" to rethink the production of materials and components from the ground up. The scarce resources and extreme conditions on the red planet serve as an experimental setting to develop a new scarcity-driven engineering paradigm that enables innovative resource and energy-saving processes for material extraction and processing. In the long term, the cluster results will contribute to sustainable human space exploration and, above all, drive green change on Earth.

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In addition to these two Clusters of Excellence in marine, polar, and climate research and in materials sciences and technologies, the University of Bremen also conducts cutting-edge interdisciplinary research in three other areas. Here too, social responsibility, cooperation, and future orientation are central to the joint research work.

A man is wearing VR glasses

Minds, Media, Machines

The university’s high-profile area “Minds, Media, Machines” brings together researchers who are working together for the benefit of society to advance our understanding of intelligence and cognition in autonomous agents and agent teams in the context of an increasingly mediatized world.

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Pins on a world map

Social Sciences

In the high-profile area “Social Change, Social Policy, and the State,” researchers work in novel forms of collaboration on issues of social inequality, social cohesion, and global solidarity.

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A woman speaks in front of a large screen.

Health Sciences

In the high-profile area of health sciences, research has a strong focus on practical application and focuses on the causes of disease, prevention, and care. In this context, issues of equity and new digital support tools are playing an increasingly important role.

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Northwest Alliance: The Joint Research and Outreach Space in the Northwest

Senatorin Kathrin Moorsdorf, Rektorin Jutta Günther, Präsident Ralph Bruder, Kultusminister Falko Mohrs bei der Unterzeichnung der NorthWest-Alliance
Founding of the Northwest Alliance between the University of Bremen and the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in January 2025 in Berlin: Bremen Senator for the Environment, Climate, and Science Kathrin Moorsdorf; President of the University of Bremen Prof. Dr. Jutta Günther; President of the University of Oldenburg Prof. Dr. Ralph Bruder; and Lower Saxony Minister for Science and Culture Falko Mohrs.

Excellent research relies on an institutional environment that is conducive to performance and offers creative research personalities the freedom to experiment in a strong, cooperative community. At the same time, the promotion of excellence should have an impact on the broad range of our performance dimensions and sustainably strengthen the quality of teaching and support of early-career researchers, equal opportunities, and the transfer of knowledge with industry and society. In this way, we can create the best possible framework conditions for academic excellence that is both outstanding and inclusive.

The University of Bremen shares this understanding of excellence with the neighboring Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. It is for this reason that the two universities have founded the Northwest Alliance. With the University of Groningen as a strong partner, the Northwest Alliance connects researchers from two federal states as well as across national borders.

By taking this step, the two founding universities are demonstrating their capacity for institutional renewal: Together, we want to take our academic performance to the next level and develop the Northwest into an area of science and innovation with international appeal, where cutting-edge research and social responsibility go hand in hand.

U Bremen Excellence Chairs

Glashalle der Uni Bremen

In the current excellence funding phase (2019-2025), the University of Bremen is pursuing the goal of establishing new top-level research networks that contribute to strengthening research in Bremen and its international visibility.

With the "U Bremen Excellence Chairs," the University of Bremen has developed a program that enables Bremen researchers to nominate internationally renowned top academics for a long-term research affiliation, equipped with their own working group, at the University of Bremen. Through regular research stays and intensive cooperation with their hosts, these Excellence Chairs enrich research activities in Bremen, offer early-career researchers access to top-class networks, and support international cooperation projects. The Excellence Chairs are situated in different fields, thus having a broad impact on the university.

Building on the success of the current program, the University of Bremen is planning to expand it to include an "Impact Fellow" program, which will support the exchange between university researchers and figures from the media, civil society, politics, and industry.