No. 112/2021

The universities in the big cities of Berlin and Munich are in great demand amongst foreign researchers. But even universities in smaller cities like Göttingen, Bremen and Bonn are popular. These are some of the findings of the 2020 Humboldt Rankings, that shows howmany research- ers have come to Germany in the last five years on the strength of sponsorship from the Foundation and where they most frequently conducted their research. “The Humboldt Rankings reveal how attractive Ger- many is as a research location,” says Hans-Christian Pape, President of the Foundation. “In addition to the big city universities, many smaller institutions are internationally visible and attractive, whereby the Rankings also reflect the subject-specific profiles of the various locations. This dis- persed excellence is a real strength of German science.” The Humboldt Foundation’s newHenriette Herz Scouting Programme makes it possible to recruit research talents directly. Researchers in Ger- many can apply to become so-called Humboldt Scouts. When selected, they can then recommend up to three international partners with whom they would like to cooperate for a Humboldt Fellowship directly. The aim is to increase diversity within the Humboldt Research Fellowship Programme, both in terms of subject and region. In order to augment the share of women, a female researcher should be recommended for the first fellowship. Otherwise, the same qual- ity criteria apply as for standard Humboldt Research Fellowships. When sponsorship comes to an end, an ex-post evaluation will be conducted. In 2020, moreover, one-time awards were granted: the Henriette Herz Awards for innovative recruitment concepts. Eight universities were recognised for their concepts for recruiting international tal- ents for their institutions and for Germany as a location for research. They will each receive 125,000 euros to implement their ideas. The Henriette Herz Scouting Programme and Award are financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/apply/sponsorship-­ programmes/henriette-herz-scouting-programme HUMBOLDT RANKINGS These German unis are popular among researchers from abroad SCOUTING PROGRAMME An eye for sought-after talents ADDITIONAL INFORMATION www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/explore/figures- and-statistics/humboldt-rankings Where are the top 20 host universities from the 2020 Humboldt Rankings located? Distribution of the leading 20 host universities in Germany by weighted rankings (sponsored individuals per 100 professors) 19 University of Bayreuth 41 20 Bielefeld University 38 15 Universität Regensburg 42 16 University of Münster 42 17 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) 42 18 University of Cologne 42 11 Heidelberg University 46 13 Universität Bochum 44 12 University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover 45 14 Universität Würzburg 43 7 Jacobs University Bremen 52 10 University of Konstanz 47 6 University of Göttingen 59 9 University of Potsdam 48 4 Technische Universität Berlin 63 5 Technische Universität München 61 8 University of Bonn 49 2 Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 88 3 Universität München 71 1 Freie Universität Berlin 121 XX Weighted rankings Number of sponsored individuals per 100 professors X 7 6 12 20 16 13 18 8 11 17 10 14 19 15 2 4 1 9 3 5 33 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 112/2021