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Freie Universität Berlin in the Excellence Competitions

In 2007 Freie Universität Berlin first won excellence status in the German government’s first Excellence Initiative competition for universities. This status was re-confirmed in June 2012, when the university won special funding for its future development strategy, “Veritas- Justitia - Libertas. International Network University.”

The university also performed well in the German government’s follow-up program called Excellence Strategy. On September 27, 2018, four Clusters of Excellence were approved for funding.

On July 19, 2019, the Berlin University Alliance won funding as a group in the Universities of Excellence funding line of the German government’s Excellence Strategy. The four Berlin partners – Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin had submitted a joint proposal entitled Crossing Boundaries toward an Integrated Research Environment.

The Berlin alliance is the first and only university consortium with excellence status in Germany.

Excellence Clusters

Several Excellence Clusters – large collaborative interdisciplinary projects – in which Freie Universität is involved were selected for special funding in the Excellence Initiative:

Graduate Schools

Freie Universität Berlin established Dahlem Research School (DRS) to provide an overarching framework for structured graduate education. These seven graduate schools were funded under the national Excellence Initiative until 2017.

The “International Network University” Development Concept

With the “International Network University” future development strategy, which won a funding award in the Excellence Initiative in 2007 and again in 2012, the university is focusing on three main areas of emphasis: developing research alliances, promoting junior scholars and scientists, and supporting international cooperation. To pursue these topics, the university established three strategic centers: the Center for Research Strategy, formerly the Center for Cluster Development; Dahlem Research School; and the Center for International Cooperation. Through transporting the core values of Veritas – Justitia – Libertas into the expansion of academic networks, Freie Universität is reacting to the challenges of a globalized world while retaining and securing the superb quality of its research.

Center for Research Strategy

The Center for Research Strategy plans and supports the long-term development of research at Freie Universität Berlin. The team supports and assists the university’s scholars and scientists in developing research alliances.

Dahlem Research School

Dahlem Research School offers doctoral candidates high quality standards assured by its doctoral regulations and supports acquisition of a wide range of key transferable skills during the doctoral study phase. It acts as the umbrella organization for the university’s outstanding structured doctoral programs. The DRS offers funding options for doctoral candidates that help them to enter their fields of research early on or enable them to take on even highly qualified activities outside of academia by way of the skills and qualifications offered outside of their own disciplines.

Center for International Cooperation

The Center for International Cooperation focuses on promoting international networks and graduate programs and supports the international activities of the scholars and scientists at Freie Universität. The CIC formulates university-wide internationalization strategies and functions as an intermediary in the development of strategic partnerships.