Foreword

The University’s Research Report 2001 charts the University’s accelerating development into an internationally recognised centre of cutting-edge research. In line with the nature of a Universitas litterarum, the broad, varied structure of investigative work covers the whole span from basic to applied research. The Research Report provides an overview of the research activities currently underway at the University’s 14 faculties.

The Universität Leipzig is becoming increasingly known for its interdisciplinary approach, with established, previously separate branches of learning now being closely linked. This is apparent from the interdisciplinary centres, some of which work together within the Centre for Advanced Studies, and which combine and network inter-faculty projects. This interdisciplinary attitude is also reflected in cooperation with external research centres in Leipzig such as the Max Planck Institutes and the UFZ Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle.

The BBZ (Biotechnological-Biomedical Centre), the University’s share within BIOCITY LEIPZIG, has already taken shape. In accordance with the BBZ’s scientific concept approved in late 2000 within the framework of the Free State of Saxony’s biotechnology/genetic engineering initiative, the necessary professorships have now been advertised. Moreover, six junior research groups have already started work. The five faculties involved are Medicine, Physics and Earth Science, Chemistry and Mineralogy, Biosciences, Pharmacy and Psychology, and Veterinary Medicine. In addition, close cooperation exists with the Interdisciplinary Centre of Bioinformatics and the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, as well as with the new Collaborative Research Centre “Variations in Protein Conformation: Cell Biological and Pathological Relevance”.

After the Universität Leipzig was chosen by the National Research Society (DFG) to set up a bioinformatics centre, in December 2001 the University Senate passed a resolution to establish the IZBI (Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioinformatics). An interdisciplinary institution, the IZBI has started to foster close collaboration between biological and medical fields and computer science within the University. This applies in particular to the BBZ, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research and the Coordination Centre for Clinical Trials, and the Max Planck Institutes based in Leipzig, as well as other research institutions and industrial partners.

Since 2001, two new Collaborative Research Centres – both run jointly with Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg – have had a major impact on the University’s profile. One operates in the humanities (“Difference and Integration. Interaction between Nomadic and Sedentary Peoples in Civilisations of the Old World’s Arid Zone”) and the other in the life sciences (“Variations in Protein Conformation: Cell Biological and Pathological Relevance”).

One notable success in 2001 was that, following the first-ever award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Wolfgang Paul Prize, positions were set up at the Universität Leipzig for two internationally renowned scientists: Prof. Barry Smith und Prof. Josef A. Käs.

The Universität Leipzig is working in different ways to increasingly open itself up to the community at large. Mention should be made of the annual Campus Day (a hands-on open day at the University) and the public presentation by the Universität Leipzig involving public lectures and exhibits at Leipzig Central Station within “Focus on the Body – Inside and Out”, a major event organised as part of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research project “2001 – Life Science Year”.

The Universität Leipzig was also successful in its first announcement for the new PHD (Doctorates at German Universities) programme, with which the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and the DFG intend to promote the attractiveness and internationality of doctoral study in Germany. The International Graduate Programme “Transnationalisation and Regionalisation from the 18th Century to the Present”, involving four humanities and social science faculties as well as two non-university research centres, was opened in October 2001.

External funding acquired by scientists at the Universität Leipzig increased in the 2001 financial year by more than 30% to €43.6 million, a new record for the University. This can be attributed to the above-average rise in external funding received by the Faculties of Medicine and Philology, as well as support for new institutes such as the BBZ. The proportion of total external funding accounted for by refereed public projects run by the European Union, the German government and the DFG amounted to 52%. Some 27% of funding for the Universität Leipzig came from the DFG, making it the biggest single outside backer.

The acquisition of external funding enabled the University to take on additional personnel to tackle research projects. In fact nearly 800 fixed-term job contracts (10% more than in the previous year) were concluded in 2001.

Naturally, the quality of research cannot solely be appraised on the basis of external funding, even if this is an important indicator. As always in times of limited financial resources, research in the humanities and social sciences – which are less attractive to external backers – are under greater pressure than usual to justify their existence despite their high (often excessively so) numbers of students. One of the University’s characteristic features is the sheer variety offered in the humanities and social sciences, their internationality and interdisciplinarity, and their special role in imparting the intercultural and communicative skills increasingly called for by the labour market in this age of globalisation. This potential for a combination of expertise unique in Saxony needs to be further developed. And this means – and at this point we address all the disciplines represented at the Universität Leipzig – reconsidering our current approach to research financing and exploring new avenues.