Education Through Science – The Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

The Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) includes all fundamental scientific disciplines and offers about 185 courses of study for more than 30,000 students. The university produces top performanc­­es when compared nationally and inter­nationally. The HU is among the ten most successful universities in a Germany-­wide funding ranking conduct­­ed by the German Research Foundation (DFG). This result, as well as suc­­cess in the Excellence Initiative sponsored by the federal and state governments, is due to the ongoing expansion of third-party fundraising and internal research promotion.

The HU also strengthens its research focuses through its Integrative Research Institutes (IRI). These are creative platforms for interdisciplinary cooperation. For example, the IRI connect various university and non-university re­­search sectors and develop future-ori­ented topics. The “IRI for the Life Sciences” focuses its research on system biology, neurological sciences and immunology. The “Integrative Research Institute for the Sciences” on the Adlershof campus focusses on mathematical physics and material sciences on a nanometre level. The “IRI Transformation of Human-Environment Systems”, IRI THESys for short, is dedicated to transformation and sustain­­ability research. In this, the Humboldt-­Universität places considerable empha­sis on further strengthening cooperation within the Berlin region, be it with non-­university research institutions or with other universities in the city.

However, it is not only medicine and natural sciences that are top of the heap at HU: the humanities are there too. The university is home to two of Germany’s six funded excellence clusters in the humanities. Image Knowledge Gestaltung. This interdisciplinary laboratory conducts research into the Gestaltung processes of all scientific disciplines, while TOPOI investigates the formation and transformation of space and knowledge in ancient civilisations.

The Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is a fountain of innovation with its outstand­ing teaching and research. The transfer of scientific findings and inventions to industry and society is one of the university’s key roles, and one that is gaining in importance. The Humboldt-Universität is pursuing the objective of strengthening the region’s competitiveness and opening an additional career path for its students and researchers.