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Term: 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2030

Strategic research profiling: Leipzig University designates eleven emerging fields along the Leipzig Way

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As part of its Strategy 2030, Leipzig University has reached another milestone in the strategic development of its research profile. At the conclusion of a call for proposals and selection process led by the Research and Transfer Commission, the Rectorate has recognised eleven emerging fields of research. As part of the continued development of the Leipzig Way – the conceptual model guiding research profiling at Leipzig University – this represents one of four differentiation phases within the overall framework. “The quality of the proposals submitted was extremely encouraging and exceptionally high. The selection process was by no means easy. We can look forward to exciting, highly promising projects and research outcomes,” says Professor Eva Inés Obergfell, Rector of Leipzig University.

Graphic: Four terms are arranged in a circle like a clock face and connected by arrows on the edge of the circle: at the top (12 o'clock) is the term ‘areas of excellence’, on the right (3 o'clock) are the terms ‘disciplines | researchers’, at the bottom (6 o'clock) is the term ‘new fields of research’, and on the left (9 o'clock) is the term ‘area of potential’.
As part of the continued development of the Leipzig Way – the conceptual model guiding research profiling at Leipzig University – this represents one of four differentiation phases within the overall framework. Image:…

At its meeting on 27 November, the Rectorate considered the recognition of emerging fields following its call for proposals issued on 20 June. Prior to this, the Research and Transfer Commission, chaired by Vice-Rector Eilers and working in close cooperation with the Office Excellence Hub, had overseen the process from the call for proposals through to the comparative evaluation of a total of 20 proposals. On 6 November, the Commission decided which proposals should be recommended to the Rectorate for recognition. 

“Emerging fields focus on new thematic research approaches at an early stage of development. They enable the identification and development of growing, cross-disciplinary potential, with a view to establishing or shaping future research priorities,” says Professor Jens-Karl Eilers, Vice-Rector for Excellence Development: Research and Transfer. “The emphasis is on innovative and original topics that respond to pressing research needs, often of clear societal relevance, and that are explicitly interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary in nature. Researchers working within an emerging field of research aim to make a decisive contribution to the further development of our research profile by securing major collaborative projects with external funding. To this end, cooperation with research institutions at regional and national level forms a key foundation.”

In addition to recognising the successful proposals, the Rectorate places particular emphasis on expressing its appreciation to those consortia whose proposals were not recognised in this round. All researchers who were unsuccessful on this occasion are explicitly encouraged to further develop their concepts for the next call and to resubmit them. The recommendations formulated by the Research and Transfer Commission as part of the evaluation process may provide valuable guidance in refining future project ideas. “It should be emphasised that even those proposals that were not recommended for recognition demonstrate considerable potential and merit further development in the context of the next call,” says Professor Eilers. 

The consortia of the eleven recognised emerging research fields include researchers from all faculties of Leipzig University, as well as participants from three Max Planck Institutes, two Leibniz Institutes (IOM, GWZO), one Fraunhofer Institute (IZI), and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). Over their five-year funding period, the emerging fields will benefit from prioritisation within the University’s internal funding programmes, including the Leipzig Flexible Fund, the Leipzig Research Funds, LE4YOU, and the Pre-Doc Award. 

The following emerging fields have been recognised (listed alphabetically):

  1. Becoming Human, Faculty of Life Sciences, spokesperson: Professor Katja Liebal
  2. CoDeR, Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy, spokesperson: Professor Ireneusz P. Karolewski and Professor Rebecca A. Pates
  3. CREDIT, Faculty of Economics and Management Science, spokesperson: Professor Roland Happ and Professor Christian Hoffmann
  4. GRAUL, Faculty of Philology, spokesperson: Professor Gereon Müller
  5. Hybrid Intelligence, Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy, spokesperson: Professor Anne Bartsch
  6. LEAP-Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, spokesperson: PD Ahmed Abd El Wahed and Dr Christiane L. Schnabel
  7. Mathematics Empowering Data, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, spokesperson: AvH Professor Daniel Král
  8. MiDy, Faculty of Physics and Earth System Sciences, spokesperson: Professor Katja Taute
  9. ReMIL, Faculty of Chemistry, spokesperson: Professor Ralf Tonner-Zech and Professor Jonas Warneke
  10. Second-best sustainable economy, Faculty of Economics and Management Science, spokesperson: Professor Martin Quaas
  11. Trafo-DDR, Faculty of History, Art and Area Studies and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy, spokesperson: Professor Dirk van Laak and Professor Monika Wohlrab-Sahr