Author: Hans Joachim Meyer

With six full proposals for clusters of excellence, Technische Universität Dresden entered a key phase in its journey toward a new excellence strategy in February 2018. TUD has reason to be optimistic: Six out of eight cluster outlines submitted by TU Dresden in 2017 led to an invitation from the German Research Foundation (DFG) to submit a full proposal. At the end of September, the DFG will announce which research clusters the international Excellence Commission is to include in the German Excellence Strategy. Two such clusters of excellence are what you need to apply for “University of Excellence” status. In other words, competition to be among the top universities in Germany continues, in a slightly different form. And there is good reason to hope that TUD will continue on its strong trajectory. “Excellence” status would benefit not just TUD but also the international reputation of the City of Dresden and Saxony as a whole – not to mention the standing of the city and the region within Germany. Why? Because, like the city’s cultural institutions, TU Dresden stands for liberty and diversity, and for vibrant dialogue with European culture and humanity. Throughout its history, Saxony has made a name for itself as a region of cultural and scientific curiosity; a place of innovation and modernity. We must remember that to move forward.

I would like to add one piece of advice to TU Dresden: The new Excellence Strategy may be entirely focused on research, but the quality of teaching must remain an equal priority. TUD owes that to its students and their prospects. A university is a place of both research and teaching. In other words, it is driven both by the interest of professors and staff in furthering and deepening their knowledge, and by the desire of its students to understand their subject better and to build on and to question previous achievements. This is essential if a university is to remain strong, vibrant, and relevant.

Prof. Dr. sc. phil. Hans Joachim Meyer was Saxony’s Minister of Science and the Arts from 1990 to 2002. From April to October 1990, he served in the last and only democratically elected government of the GDR under Lothar de Maizière as Minister of Education and Science. He holds an honorary doctorate from TU Dresden and is an honorary member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

This article appeared in the Dresdner Universitätsjournal (university newspaper, UJ) 13/2018 of Spetember 04, 2018. The complete issue is available as a free PDF download here. Printed copies and PDF files of the university newspaper can be ordered from  . For more information, please visit universitaetsjournal.de.