“This is a signal for a new start. The political sector has heard the science community’s demands.”

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation welcomes the new federal government’s science policy plans and expects them to have a positive effect on Germany’s international attractiveness as a location for conducting research.

“This agreement is a signal for a new start and promises many things that science needs: starting with investments in digitalisation and the easier transfer of knowledge to commercial applications and extending to strengthening universities and offering young scholars and scientists calculable careers all the way to priorities that are geared to the future and a commitment to basic research”, said Hans-Christian Pape, President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. “The political sector has heard the science community’s demands – not only those expressed by scientists from Germany but also in our international research network. This will also make Germany more attractive internationally”, Pape noted.

The 3% annual increase in the amount of institutional funding allocated for the Humboldt Foundation and the DAAD, analogous to the organisations in the Pact for Research and Innovation, is a strong signal for internationalization and science diplomacy, Pape said. “The Humboldt Foundation’s international research network wants to contribute to solving the global challenges facing us. This applies not only to issues such as climate change, medicine and digitalisation but also to exchange and dialogue which today are more important than ever before”, said Pape.

“International cooperation at a high level of excellence leads to better research which produces results that benefit society. For this reason, we expressly support the new German government’s goal of networking science ever further at European and international level”, Pape stressed. Our commitment to protecting endangered researchers and scholars is an important signal that is noticed abroad. “With its Philipp Schwartz Initiative, the Foundation is making a contribution to ensuring that Germany is a safe haven for researchers from countries where freedom of science is at threat.”

“The political sector in Germany has taken on enormous tasks and set ambitious goals for itself. The new government's coalition agreement will send important signals for the overall modernisation of Germany, for greater speed, for less bureaucracy, for diversity, sustainability, respect and social cohesion. We will make every effort to support the political sector in order to achieve these goals”, underscored Pape.

(Press release 37/2021)

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time conducting research in Germany. The Foundation maintains an interdisciplinary network of well over 30,000 Humboldtians in more than 140 countries around the world – including 61 Nobel Prize winners.