The Free State of Bavaria is making progress in funding cutting-edge research. The location development at the University of Nuremberg-Erlangen is progressing with the purchase of 105,000 square meters of space on the so-called Siemens campus in Erlangen, announced Science Minister Markus Blume (CSU) on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting in Munich. According to the state government, the expansion “sends a strong signal that the largest university in northern Bavaria is setting out for new shores of excellence”.
The additional area is part of a larger location concept for the university with an investment volume of 1.5 billion euros so far. The new areas are primarily intended to provide space for the highly sought-after technical faculty with 10,000 of the 40,000 students in Erlangen. The acquisition offers the unique opportunity to reorganize the highly innovative faculty and to merge its areas. In addition, cooperation with non-university institutes such as the Fraunhofer or Helmholtz Institute and with the technology company Siemens should be promoted.
The budget committee of the state parliament still has to approve the purchase. A purchase price can therefore not yet be published.
Eleven of the 15 additionally planned technology transfer centers (TTZ) throughout Bavaria, which are primarily intended to provide transfer services for small and medium-sized companies in the regional economy, have already been classified as eligible for funding. The 15 centers initiated by universities of applied sciences or technical universities are to be created in addition to the existing TTZ. Blume pointed out that research-intensive faculties at universities of applied sciences (formerly “Fachhochschulen”) can now also apply for the right to award doctorates with the entry into force of the new University Innovation Act. This should further strengthen research in the area.