2 October 2026, by Newsroom editorial office

Photo: University of Hamburg/Göttling

The new professorships underscore the University of Hamburg’s internationalization strategy.

All four Global Minds professorships applied for by the Clusters of Excellence and Collaborative Research Centers at the University of Hamburg and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf have been approved. This means that more than a quarter of the 15 professorships funded nationwide in this call for proposals are going to the University of Hamburg.

The German Research Foundation’s (DFG) program aims to attract outstanding scientists from abroad for long-term collaboration and professorships at German universities.

The four successful proposals from the University of Hamburg and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) strengthen various research priorities through outstanding international expertise. The new professorships are assigned to the Clusters of Excellence CUI: Advanced Matter of Imaging, Climate, Climatic Change and Society, and Understanding Written Artefacts, as well as to the Collaborative Research Center Immune Regulation of the Liver: From Homeostasis to Disease at the UKE.

Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren, president of the University of Hamburg: “The four successful proposals are a strong testament to the University of Hamburg’s international reputation and academic excellence. With the Global Minds professorships, we can attract outstanding scientists to our research networks and create new opportunities for international collaboration.”

Even Greater International Visibility and Networking

The newly funded professorships enable the research networks to integrate established leading experts in their respective fields on a long-term basis, thereby sustainably strengthening scientific work at the participating locations. At the same time, they create additional opportunities for the further development of research profiles and help make the networks even more visible internationally.

The DFG is funding the 15 Global Minds professorships as well as twelve Mercator Fellows as part of the 1,000-Köpfe-Plus program, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space. In this first funding round, the initiative was aimed at Clusters of Excellence and Collaborative Research Centers. Funding of up to €3.5 million can be awarded for each professorship. The funding period is a maximum of five years.