Excellence Initiative | Ivy League at home

In odd-numbered years, sports fans miss major international tournaments like the men's European Football Championship, World Cup, or Olympics. To keep boredom at bay, the press department of the German Council of Science and Humanities recently reported on Bluesky that "15 universities can hope to be selected as Universities of Excellence in the new application process." Fans should take note: "The competition for cutting-edge research and international visibility," the press office stated, "is more exciting than ever!"

And if that weren't enough, there are heated transfer rumors in the academic world. The venerable Harvard University is in the firing line of the Trump regime and has so far not succumbed to blackmail attempts. "Never waste a good crisis" seems to be the motto of the newly appointed Minister of State for Culture, Wolfram Weimer. The archaic conservative with imperial ambitions made Harvard an offer to open a campus in Germany. The exact terms are unclear. But one shouldn't let such details spoil one's good mood. That's certainly the opinion of the new Minister for Research, Technology and Space, Dorothee Bär (CSU). In an interview with the "Bild" newspaper, she admits that the BMFTR (Federal Ministry of Finance and Technology) – which, according to the ministerial social media department, should be pronounced "BM Futur" – is only concerned with "positive topics."

A dazzling prospect, one might think, were it not for the perpetual grumblers in the academic world, mostly from the mid-level academic ranks of universities. They waste valuable time on social media, using hashtags like #ExitExcellence, asking superfluous questions. For example: What does it actually cost when 15 universities spend over a year urgently applying for five new spots in the Excellence Award?

The criticism of the structural condition of universities is similarly impertinent. Who cares that the Telefunken high-rise, a major building belonging to the Technical University of Berlin, has been out of service for over a year due to water damage? The Berlin University Alliance still holds the Seal of Excellence!

Then there's the never-ending #I'mHanna debate. Long-term trained scientists from our own system are being sent packing because the German Act on Temporary Employment in Science sets a maximum fixed-term contract? That doesn't matter, does it? There are top researchers from the USA on the market who are surely eager to teach history for teacher training or introductory courses in organic chemistry in Vechta or Erlangen.

And completely provincial: the indications that university funding is being slashed at the state level – and hiring freezes are to follow. It's not about fiscal policy details, but about internationally visible excellence. Anyone with vision is in the right place in higher education policy: We're creating an Ivy League at home – with rocket propulsion. Alexander Gallas