Best rate in acquiring external funding
Top position in the DFG Funding Atlas
Konstanz professors acquire on average around 80 percent more external funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) than the statistic mean. In the current DFG Funding Atlas 2015 the University of Konstanz reaches nationwide place 1 in raising external funds relative to the "statistically expected volume of external funding". The per-capita funding quota is particularly high in the areas of life sciences as well as the humanities and social sciences.
"In its current Funding Atlas the DFG also compared the acquired external funds per person, thus considering the funding sum in relation to the number of supported persons. The result reflects the achievements of our university: The external funding our researchers acquire per capita for their projects is far above average, thereby making Konstanz one of the best locations for realising research projects. It is particularly encouraging that the University of Konstanz reaches top positions in two of its four profile areas – the life sciences as well as the cultural sciences", explains Professor Ulrich Rüdiger, rector of the University of Konstanz.
In the category DFG-approvals per person – calculated in relation to the number of researchers –the University of Konstanz places nationally first in the life sciences. "Life Sciences is a research area that usually is dominated by locations with a focus on medicine. This makes the outstanding result of the University of Konstanz all the more remarkable, as we reach the leading position without a medical faculty, solely through biochemical basic research. The result confirms the research-intensive strategic orientation of our university and its profile areas," emphasises Ulrich Rüdiger.
In the area of the humanities and social sciences the University of Konstanz holds place 2 in the category approvals per person, in the category absolute funding sums place 9 – along with far bigger locations. The Funding Atlas highlights the large number of ERC grants acquired by humanities and social sciences scholars from Konstanz. With a total of six ERC grants in this area, the University of Konstanz – on par with the Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich – has acquired the second-highest number of grants nationwide.
Published every three years, the DFG Funding Atlas presents key figures relating to publicly funded research in Germany. The current issue includes a special focus on the German Excellence Initiative and looks at larger structures to make regional focuses more visible. In addition to the national top position, the Funding Atlas noted the particular importance the University of Konstanz has for the region High Rhine-Lake Constance.
You can download the Funding Atlas 2015 here: www.dfg.de/dfg_profil/zahlen_fakten/foerderatlas/