HRK's call to action ahead of Bundestag election: Four priorities to strengthen German universities

“In the new legislature, education and research policy must play a key role in government action and consistently take into account the special importance of universities for the German education, research and innovation system", says Walter Rosenthal, President of the German Rector's Conference (HRK), on 15/01/2025.

The organisation outlines four key priorities for the next federal government, in anticipation of the Bundestag election to renew the 630 seats of the German federal parliament on 23/02/2025:

• Reduce bureaucracy: eliminate administrative restrictions and unnecessary reporting obligations;

• Bundle research and innovation funding: coordinate federal research that allows interdisciplinary relations and transfer funding across scientific fields;

• Strengthen teaching and learning: the dynamised Future Contract for Strengthening Studying and Teaching in Higher Education [initiative to maintain study capacities in line with demand and to improve the quality of studies and teaching] must remain sustainably funded after the current agreement period ending in 2027. To enhance…