Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is participating in the second phase of the nationwide competition of universities in all three funding lines of the Excellence Initiative by the German federal and state governments. Under the motto of THE GUTENBERG SPIRIT: Moving Minds – Crossing Boundaries, JGU has submitted full proposals on time to the German Research Foundation (DFG) for one graduate school, three clusters of excellence, and its institutional strategy to promote top-level research. In addition, Mainz University is also participating in the Center for Advanced Spin Engineering Cluster of Excellence of the Kaiserslautern University of Technology. "We want to use this chance offered by the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state Governments to position Mainz University in the league of national and international institutions of top-level research by submitting proposals in all three funding lines," says Professor Dr. Georg Krausch, President of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. "We are therefore delighted that we were invited to submit full proposals for all three funding lines."

Excellence-Oriented University Governance

The recent development of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz has been shaped by a concentration on excellent key profile areas in research and the on-going professionalizing of JGU's overall governance structures. "Our proposals for the graduate school of excellence and the clusters of excellence in the first two funding lines represent a consistent continuation of our profile-building strategy," states JGU President Georg Krausch. "The fact that we have maintained our core research areas in the excellence competition must be seen as a confirmation of the international standing of our JGU scientists, especially in view of the strong competitors in the Excellence Initiative."