High-Profile Research

An important criterion in assessing the attractiveness of a university is the practical relevance of the research it carries out. In the future, only those universities which co-operate closely with extramural basic research institutions and high-tech companies will have a competitive advantage. The university of the future must be able to network between various fields - from research to teaching as well as to politics, society and the economy. The University of Potsdam already fulfills these criteria to a large extent.

At the beginning of the new millennium the University of Potsdam set itself the goal to be at the forefront, both nation-wide and internationally, in the competition for students and research funding. Following a recommendation of the Council of Science (Wissenschaftsrat) and a follow-up discussion on university structure, the University of Potsdam now concentrates on eight fields of research, interdisciplinary for the most part and particularly competitive, which make the profile of the university clearly visible. These fields of research comprise:

• Geosciences
• Life Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Complex Systems
• The Comparison of Cultures
• Soft Matter
• Economy - Institutions - Administration
• Potsdam Model of Teacher Training