FOREWORD

A hallmark of the Universität Leipzig is its diversity. The university offers a broad range of subjects in a mutually stimulating and cooperative working and research environment. In this research report, over 200 institutions present nearly 3,100 research projects, about 1,850 of which are supported by external funding. These projects have an increasingly interdisciplinary character, as evidenced in centres that integrate and focus research across departmental boundaries.

On 27 March 2003, the Central and Eastern Europe Leipzig Centre e.V. was founded to bring together scholarly, economic, and cultural expertise on Central and Eastern Europe, expertise located not only at the Universität Leipzig and the city of Leipzig, but also throughout the Free State of Saxony. The centre will assist in the acquisition of external research funding, serve as a forum for exchange between research and the public, and function as a meeting point for the regional research, business, and cultural scene. In addition to the Universität Leipzig and the city of Leipzig, the cooperation partners include the Institute for Area Studies, the Centre for the Study of the History and Culture of Eastern Central Europe, the Simon Dubnow Institute for the Study of Jewish History and Culture, the "Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig", the Centre for Environmental Research Halle-Leipzig GmbH, as well as the Stadtwerke Leipzig, MaxicoM GmbH, the Leipzig Trade Fair, the Polish Institute, and others.

A consortium consisting of 90 regional institutions and organisations, lead by the Universität Leipzig operating within the framework of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research programme "Learning Regions", successfully proposed the project "Learning Region Leipzig - A Changing Region - For a New Quality of Life in the Region". Over the next four years, the partners propose to increase the participation of citizens in the organisation of their lives through education and learning, and to create ways and means through which experience and knowledge can grow according to specific needs, a process which should lead to the further development of individual competence.

BIO CITY LEIPZIG, which celebrated its official opening in May 2003, provides a new location for close cooperations between economy and science, and is represented by the Centre for Biotechnology and Biomedicine (BBZ), a central institution of the Universität Leipzig. The BBZ concentrates the expertise of university research groups focusing on "Protein Engineering and Therapeutics", "Nanobiotechnology", and "Biomedical Cell Engineering". Work at the BBZ began with the appointment of five of six new professorships and the research undertaken in six independent junior research groups. The wide scope of expertise already achieved in the areas of biotechnology and biomedicine was displayed at the Universität Leipzig's 2nd Biotechnology Symposium at the BIO CITY LEIPZIG.

The 1^st Leipzig Forum for Computer- and Robot-assisted Surgery on 17 July 2003 showcased the advances of a revolutionary development in medicine: surgery with the help of information and communications technology, mechatronics, and robotics. As one of the leaders in this field in Germany, Leipzig was appointed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Free State of Saxony to submit a proposal (which has meanwhile been accepted) for the development of an Innovation Centre for Computer- and Robot-assisted Surgery.

The projects contributing to the development of new flexible thin film solar cells within the network INNOCIS were successfully completed. With its contribution of six sub-projects, Leipzig University played a major role in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research funded project, part of its programme "Innovative Regional Growth Centres".

These are only some of the many examples reflecting the new quality of interdisciplinary networks in which partners from the fields of research, education, and business pursue common interests to focus fields of innovation, develop marketing strategies, and administer projects.

The basis for being an attractive partner in such undertakings is continuous research that rarely begins with spectacular findings, but rather develops over time on solid foundations. External funding is crucial in acquiring the necessary personal and financial means.

In this regard it is encouraging that the university's external funding continues to grow, reaching a new high of EUR 54.2 million, an increase of 10% over the previous year (24% compared with 2001). While the level was maintained in the mathematical and natural science departments, the amount of external funding increased by 21% in the liberal arts and social sciences, and by 16% in the faculty of medicine, when compared to the financial year 2001. Significant contributors are the centres funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Research Society DFG, like the Centre for Biotechnology and Biomedicine and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioinformatics.

The considerable amount of public funding deserves special mention. The acquisition of external funding for projects refereed by the European Union, the Federal Government, and the DFG, remains high at 57% of the total funding. 21% of those funds come from the DFG, the most important source of external funding to the university.

External funding gives the university the chance to hire additional personnel - albeit only on fixed-term contracts - for specific research projects. A total of 996 contracts represent the best result so far, an increase of 6% from the previous year, and 25% compared to the financial year 2001. The medical faculty was especially successful in this area, with increases of 9% over the previous year, and 34% over 2001.

In the coming years, it will continue to be an important task to emphasize the tying in of scientific potential with professional expertise, to rethink traditional ways of financing research, and to develop new opportunities through an increased acquisition of external funding.