Nr. 13 / 2025

12. Februar 2025 : “Being ambitious and Taking Responsibility”: Osnabrück University submits successful bid to funding program

This is a huge success for Osnabrück University which will additionally strengthen its international visibility as an outstanding academic institution. As part of the “Strategically Developing Potential” funding program, it has received €16.25 million from the Volkswagen Foundation for its application entitled “Responsibility and Ambition - Excellent Research, Innovative Education, Responsible Governance”.

"We are delighted - what a great success for all of us!" says University President Prof. Dr. Susanne Menzel-Riedl. "The fact that we managed to do so well in this highly competitive selection process shows that our strategic considerations were exactly right – and at the same time reflects who we are: an institution with strong regional roots, solid research across the board and internationally recognized cutting-edge research. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone involved for their enormous commitment during the challenging application process."

The university’s application builds on the strategy it has implemented in recent years which seeks to continue on the path of ambitious profile development – both in research and teaching. This will be complemented by the further development of a modern management culture and the existing internationalization of the university.

"As far as research is concerned, we want to further increase our visibility," emphasizes Vice President for Research, Social Dialog and Outreach, Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Kühnberger. Our aim is to strengthen our excellent existing collaborative research and to initiate new collaborative research initiatives and profile topics. In addition, we are seeking to strengthen the social responsibility of research. 

In concrete terms, this means, among other things, the additional expansion of the two existing collaborative research centers, one in cell biology and one in migration research, and the establishment of new collaborative initiatives and research topics through internal university funding pools. This will be flanked by the strengthening of science communication.

In addition to research, the the university is planning to expand  its research-oriented teaching and learning. In doing so, it will acknowledge the increasingly heterogeneous student body: “We see that our students increasingly bring with them diverse social, family, biographical and educational backgrounds,” says Vice President for Academic Program Development and Teaching, Prof. Dr. Jochen Oltmer. “Not only do we have to respond to this, but we also want to do so actively by providing teaching and learning opportunities.” In addition to promoting innovative teaching and learning formats, the university seeks to improve the organizational framework conditions for a heterogeneous student body. Specifically, we are planning to set up an innovation lab to develop and test new teaching and learning formats, provide students with more support during the introductory phase of their studies, and generally make the courses on offer more flexible. In addition, we will promote so-called service learning, i.e. the combination of social commitment and professional learning.

The third area covers the university's management culture, with a greater focus on internationalization. “A particular concern is the establishment of a “Welcome Center” for new international employees and international guests in cooperation with the university, as well as the intensification of international exchange for our non-academic staff,” adds the Vice President for International Affairs, Diversity and Academic Staff Development, Prof. Dr. Andrea Lenschow. “Good work also means responsible and respectful collaboration, which is at the heart of our university culture: we will continue to focus on this.”

The Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) and the Volkswagen Foundation are using the “Strategically Developing Potential” funding program to enable universities in Lower Saxony to add focus to their strategic development goals. According to the MWK and the Volkswagen Foundation, the aim is to strategically develop their locations as part of an efficient science network in Lower Saxony –  embedded in German and international cooperation –  in the best possible way during this decade and beyond. In this way, existing deficits may be reduced, new and innovative subject areas may be developed and promising potential may be strengthened. This can be achieved through cooperation, but also by   engaging in burden-sharing with other universities and research institutions. The majority of the funding results from the equivalent value of the annual dividend on the VW trust shares of the state of Lower Saxony; they are subject to the profit transfer claim to the Volkswagen Foundation. In accordance with the statutes, the funds are to be awarded to scientific institutions in Lower Saxony.

Further information for the media: 
Dr. Oliver Schmidt, Osnabrück University
Communications and Marketing Office
oliver.schmidt@uos.de