The Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg are forging a shared path in the race for excellence through the Northwest Alliance. In this interview, President Jutta Günther explains why the collaboration is an important step for both institutions, how the consortium adds value through its joint structures, and why social responsibility is a cornerstone of their shared vision.
Professor Günther, the University of Bremen was very successful with two Clusters of Excellence, and could have applied for the title of University of Excellence on its own. Why did you actively decide to join forces with the University of Oldenburg?
The University of Bremen and the University of Oldenburg have a long history of cooperation, and are geographically and culturally close. We are the same age, similar in size, and share the same openness to new approaches. And we recently acquired our first joint Cluster of Excellence – The Ocean Floor. Both universities are gradually reaching the limits of what we can each achieve on our own, and we are now at the point where we can advance our respective fields of research and areas of learning through a mutually beneficial partnership. We benefit from the fact that our profiles do not duplicate each other, but rather complement each other very well, and create a stronger, more innovative whole.
What are the historical and cultural ties between the universities of Bremen and Oldenburg?
Both institutions were established as reform universities around 50 years ago. As such, they were ideal places to test new approaches to research, teaching, organizational structure, and architecture. The reforms included project-based teaching and learning, interdisciplinarity, the abolition of academic chairs and faculties, and a strong emphasis on social responsibility and practical relevance. While not all of these reforms have survived, the universities have evolved while maintaining the spirit of reform, agility, and willingness to cooperate across disciplines. Oldenburg is a leader in teacher education, and both universities place an emphasis on sustainability in research and teaching. While the emphasis used to be on practical relevance, we now focus on impact and engagement. But one thing is certain: both locations excel in research and teaching in the field of social responsibility.
At the same time, the two universities also differ. Why is that an advantage?
We complement each other in many fields, meaning that our respective specializations within a field build on one another. A good example are marine sciences: Bremen has particular strength in the geosciences, while Oldenburg is strong in marine biodiversity. A similar situation exists in health sciences. While Oldenburg collaborates with Groningen to train medical professionals, Bremen focuses on public health and medical technology. There are many more similar examples.
At the same time, there are clear differences. Bremen does not have a medical degree program, but we have engineering programs. Oldenburg has a distinct and widely recognized focus on teacher education; Bremen trains lawyers (state examination). These differences are not an obstacle to our partnership; they strengthen each university’s individual profile.
What exactly is the Northwest Alliance: a strategic umbrella, a research consortium, a new organizational model – or all of the above?
At its core, it is a strategic partnership between our two universities. After a long period of bilateral cooperation, we founded the alliance in January 2025. At the same time, we have brought two additional strategic partners on board: the University of Groningen and the Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg. Together with the numerous non-university institutes in the region and the diverse and increasingly important non-academic partners from industry, public administration, and the community, we want to create a leading research and knowledge transfer hub in the northwest. With this in mind, we have also established a governance structure, a binding framework. We meet on a regular basis, plan major projects together, and actively involve members of both universities.
Governance structure is an important keyword. How do you ensure that the collaboration generates added value rather than additional bureaucracy?
Added value is created through commitment, especially when it comes to professorship planning. Professorships are the key control variable for university operations. When two universities align their efforts and plan together despite their independence, this creates considerable leverage. The same applies to the career paths of our researchers, where we work together and are committed to promoting diversity, a proven factor of academic excellence.
On top of that, we share the same core values: interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, social engagement, research-based learning, and sustainability. These shared values make cooperation much easier. Both universities, each with two Clusters of Excellence, have grown significantly. Bringing these together now will strengthen other areas and allow them to participate, generating even more added value.
You are teaming up with Oldenburg President Ralph Bruder. How does this dual leadership work?
We lead the alliance together. Key decisions are made by a joint steering board in which both university leaderships (the University Executive Board and the Presidential Board) are fully represented. All issues affecting both universities are discussed and decided there. Our Academic Senates have already held two joint meetings and issued rulings. We envision a number of participatory and consultative elements in the University Excellence Consortium. After all, this is an alliance of two universities – not of isolated individuals at the top acting alone.
The application carries the title “Connecting for Tomorrow.” What is behind this guiding principle?
It represents cooperation and interconnectedness. Our response to the major challenges of our time is collaboration and a strong network between the two universities, Groningen, the Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg, and non-university research institutions at both locations. A key feature of the alliance is bringing people from these institutions together, regardless of geographical, disciplinary, or cultural boundaries.
Your application speaks of a “vision of a new university.” What exactly is new about this vision, and how does it differ from traditional university models?
Our goal is not to found a new university, but rather to use the alliance to re-position our two universities in a world undergoing dynamic change. Traditionally, universities generate new knowledge through basic and applied research, educate students, and transfer this knowledge to society. None of this is wrong or obsolete. However, public expectations of universities are changing. We are expected to address major societal challenges such as health, climate change, energy supply, and inequality. Research should have a tangible impact by more actively providing solutions and incorporating societal influences into research and teaching than has been done in the past. The new role consists of co-creating new knowledge, including with non-academic experts. This concept is relatively new to universities and must be implemented in accordance with academic freedom. This new role is not in conflict with our pursuit of excellence; rather, it is part of our path towards excelling in social responsibility. Growing into a new role is no small feat and will not happen overnight, but the alliance is well on its way. This strategy is also an important way to counteract the growing hostility towards science.
In your application, you place people at the center. What does that mean exactly?
Our approach is all about making connections, and these are formed through the people within the institutions: across inner-European and German state borders, across disciplinary boundaries, between universities and non-university institutions, within and beyond academia, and across cultures.
We know that the community of our universities is shaped by the people who are part of it – researchers, teaching staff, students, staff in administration and university operations. We value diversity and belonging, both of which are ongoing priorities. People can only freely express their creativity if they feel that they truly belong to an institution. For people from disadvantaged groups, this is much more difficult. Our goal is to raise awareness and learn from areas that are already further ahead in addressing this issue.
How do students benefit from the Excellence Strategy?
Together with research, students are a clear priority within the Excellence University Consortium. Transforming teaching and learning is a central pillar of our mission. With the Future Learning Hub, we will use research to further develop contemporary teaching and learning methods and practices. After all, we have the academic expertise in-house, and we will bring in additional perspectives. We will strengthen school outreach activities by combining Oldenburg’s strong, high-quality, and large teacher education programs with Bremen’s corresponding expertise. This may seem unusual for an Excellence application, but it is clear to us: Teachers are the most important multipliers in society, with enormous potential for impact. We see this societal leverage as a particular strength and highlight it deliberately.
Many people worry that Excellence funding will primarily benefit a few individual flagship projects. How do you ensure that the entire university benefits from it?
The Excellence University funding line explicitly aims to strengthen the competitiveness of universities across the board. We need excellence (clusters) in order to be able to have a broad impact. The planned measures will potentially benefit all faculties, for example, through the Research Fund Northwest, the Engagement Hub, or improved services that will enable researchers to focus more on their research. Unconventional, innovative ideas should certainly also be supported.
We would focus our energies to empower the next generation to combine societal engagement with excellent research. That would be visible and position us as a role model.
The University of Bremen has already gained experience as a University of Excellence. To what extent does the alliance build on this?
We have developed structures from the previous Excellence funding (2012-2019) and know that many measures have a broad impact. There is a high level of acceptance among the University of Bremen members because they have seen the benefits. Valuable results of the previous funding include BYRD – Bremen Early Career Researcher Development, the “Worlds of Contradiction” research institution, and BIGSSS – Bremen international Graduate School of Social Sciences.
Let’s assume Bremen and Oldenburg were selected as a University Excellence Consortium. What would the University of Bremen look like after seven years?
We would have significantly more jointly run projects, more joint successes with the DFG and the EU, and greater mobility between the universities and with Groningen. Support for early-career researchers would be substantially expanded, especially in transdisciplinary research with societal impact.
We would focus our energies to empower the next generation to combine societal engagement with excellent research. That would be visible and position us as a role model.
Is the Alliance a future benchmark?
Yes, it is. It will serve as a benchmark, also because our collaboration with Groningen transcends national borders. European models of excellence have been the subject of much discussion in science policy. We can be a role model and set an example.
What are your personal expectations of the Northwest Alliance?
This is a great opportunity for us to learn from Oldenburg and Groningen, including how to modernize our organizational structure. This exciting exchange process has much potential for everyone involved.