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Freie Universit?t Berlin, Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin, Technische Universit?t Berlin, and Charité – Universit?tsmedizin Berlin are entering the Excellence Strategy competition together. On February 21, 2018, the three universities submitted their letter of intent to the German Council of Science and Humanities in Cologne. Taking note of the unique academic environment and great variety of disciplines in Berlin, they emphasize the vibrant and diverse culture of cooperation. In the Clusters of Excellence funding line, researchers from the named institutions submitted a total of nine full proposals, as invited by the German Council of Science and Humanities and the German Research Foundation (DFG) in September 2017.

The Berlin institutions see the letter of intent as the logical implementation of the cooperation for this competition that they entered into in the summer of 2016. The variety of academic disciplines in the humanities, natural and social sciences, life sciences, and engineering along with the innovative strength in Berlin can be utilized to promote cutting-edge research and make it more visible internationally. For more than ten years an increasingly comprehensive, vibrant, and diverse culture of cooperation has evolved with numerous joint research projects and more collaboration in teaching and promoting young talent as well as everyday use of shared infrastructures.

The cluster projects reflect the high degree of cooperation already in place among the Berlin institutions:

Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)
Designated spokespersons: Prof. Dr. Tanja B?rzel (Freie Universit?t Berlin), Prof. Dr. Michael Zürn (Freie Universit?t Berlin/ Berlin Social Science Center, WZB)
Applicant university: Freie Universit?t Berlin

Matters of Activity: Image Space Material
Designated spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Sch?ffner (Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin)
Applicant university: Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin

MATH+ The Berlin Mathematics Research Center
Designated spokespersons: Prof. Günter M. Ziegler (Freie Universit?t Berlin), Prof. Michael Hintermüller (Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin), Prof. Martin Skutella (Technische Universit?t Berlin)
Applicant universities: Freie Universit?t Berlin, Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin, Technische Universit?t Berlin

NeuroCure: Comprehensive approaches to neurological and psychiatric disorders – from mechanisms to interventions
Designated spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Dietmar Schmitz (Charité – Universit?tsmedizin Berlin)
Applicant universities: Freie Universit?t Berlin, Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin

SCIoI - Science of Intelligence
Designated spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Oliver Brock (Technische Universit?t Berlin)
Applicant universities: Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin, Technische Universit?t Berlin

Shaping Space - Converging Art, Science, Technology
Designated spokesperson: Prof. Dr. -Ing Christoph Gengnagel (Berlin University of the Arts), Prof. Dr. Stefan Weinzierl (Technische Universit?t Berlin)
Applicant universities: Technische Universit?t Berlin, Berlin University of the Arts

Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective
Designated spokespersons: Prof. Dr. Anita Traninger, Prof. Dr. Andrew Johnston (Freie Universit?t Berlin)
Applicant university: Freie Universit?t Berlin

Topoi. Stability and Instability in Ancient Civilizations
Designated spokespersons: Prof. Dr. Monika Trümper (Freie Universit?t Berlin), Prof. Dr. Gerd Gra?hoff (Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin)
Applicant universities: Freie Universit?t Berlin, Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin

Unifying Systems in Catalysis (UniSysCat)
Designated spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Matthias Driess, Prof. Dr. Arne Thomas, Prof. Dr. Peter Hildebrandt (Technische Universit?t Berlin)
Applicant university: Technische Universit?t Berlin

Four of the nine cluster initiatives build on existing Clusters of Excellence. The decision as to which projects will be funded will be announced on September 27, 2018. The winning clusters will then be supported for seven years beginning January 1, 2019. After that, there will be an opportunity to apply for a second funding period.

The decision in the Universities of Excellence funding line will be announced on July 19, 2019. The winning universities will receive funding for seven years beginning November 1, 2019. After seven years and a successful evaluation, they can receive funding for another seven years.

Further Information

• Interview with the heads of the institutions about the letter of intent
• Cluster proposals
• Berlin University Alliance
• Twitter: @BerlinUAlliance

Press Contacts

Goran Krstin
Press Spokesperson for the President
Freie Universit?t Berlin
t: +49 30 838-731 06
goran.krstin@fu-berlin.de

Hans-Christoph Keller
Spokesperson, Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin
Head of the Office of Press and Public Relations
t: +49 30 2093-2345
pr@hu-berlin.de

Stefanie Terp
Spokesperson, Technische Universit?t Berlin
Office for Press, Public Relations and Alumni
t: +49 30 314-23922
pressestelle@tu-berlin.de

Manuela Zingl
Deputy Press Officer
Charité – Universit?tsmedizin Berlin
t: +49 30 450 570 400
presse@charite.de
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