At the turn of the year, Bavaria took over the chairmanship of the Joint Science Conference (GWK) from the federal and state governments, and Bernd Sibler (CSU), head of department, is the new face of national research policy. The art and science minister will chair the state side in the GWK. He then takes on the office with the new Federal Minister of Education, Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP). In the GWK, the federal and state governments work together on research funding, often billions of dollars are involved. The German university and science system is in a very good condition, said Sibler: “But we cannot rest on that.” Future topics such as cutting-edge medicine and health care, sustainability or quantum technologies would have to be addressed jointly by the GWK in an even more targeted manner.
It is also important to Sibler to better inform society about what science is doing. The pandemic shows “how important it is to convey facts and scientific knowledge”. Despite the currently increasing incidence, Sibler continued to advocate presence at universities. The high vaccination rate among students as well as a comprehensive toolbox of didactic possibilities and infection protection measures guaranteed the safest possible study, research and teaching.
As GWK boss, he particularly wants to advance research in medicine and quantum computers. He would like to initiate an excellence initiative – a high-class funding competition – in top-class medicine; “Because we feel that medical research and teaching are accelerating the dynamics in other scientific disciplines in many aspects, that acceptance among the population is greatest and, of course, nowhere is it clearer that research is focused on people,” said Sibler . Success in quantum computing could have a positive effect in many areas, it is “to be understood that this will be a technology of the future”.