The Prime Minister promises billions for artificial intelligence and IT. But now the universities fear that money will be taken away from them again – and warn of damage to the reputation of Bavaria as a science location.
The Bavarian universities and colleges see the goals of Prime Minister Markus Söder’s (CSU) billion-dollar high-tech agenda as “massively endangered”. This is what it says in an internal letter from the University Conference and the Universities of Applied Sciences (HaW) to the Ministry of Science, which the South German newspaper is present. According to the letter, the Free State is considering reclaiming large sums of money that have already been earmarked for new professorships at universities. These positions are among the core elements of Söder’s prestige project, with which he wants to significantly strengthen research and future technologies in Bavaria. A failure of these funds “would be fatal for the planning security of the universities and would have a direct impact on the implementation” of the high-tech agenda “and the reputation of the Free State as a science location,” warn universities and HaW in their fire letter.