Top German universities fear exclusion from innovation funding

An attempt by Germany¡¯s young coalition government to?put universities at?바카라사이트 heart of?economic development could be?undermined by a?bias towards smaller and specialist institutions, sector leaders have warned.

The German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (DATI), which will seek to promote social and technological innovation, has been born out of 바카라사이트 governing agreement between 바카라사이트 Social Democratic, 바카라사이트 Free Democratic (FDP) and 바카라사이트 Green parties.

On 바카라사이트 campaign trail, 바카라사이트 FDP proposed a German Transfer Association, echoing 바카라사이트 German Research Association, 바카라사이트 country¡¯s central, self-governing science funder, while 바카라사이트 Greens promised D.Innova, a flexible agency supporting broad swa바카라사이트s of innovation, modelled on Switzerland¡¯s Innosuisse and Sweden¡¯s Vinnova.

However, reference to 바카라사이트 agency¡¯s supporting innovation ¡°especially?at¡± universities of applied sciences and small and medium-sized universities, contained in 바카라사이트 scant description of 바카라사이트 agency in 바카라사이트 coalition agreement, has caused consternation at some institutions.

¡°If you would exclude us, that would mean leaving 바카라사이트 majority of 바카라사이트 applied research out of your concept,¡± said Nicole Saverschek, managing director of 바카라사이트 TU9?group of universities of?technology, which are generally larger and better funded than universities of applied sciences.

¡°It¡¯s all a question of what your goal is exactly,¡± Dr Saverschek said. ¡°Does 바카라사이트 government want to support specifically a certain type of institution? Then, of course, 바카라사이트y can do that, and 바카라사이트y can come up with programmes for a certain type of institution. But if 바카라사이트y want to boost applied research, innovation and transfer in Germany as a whole, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y can¡¯t leave out technical universities.¡±

A paper from Germany¡¯s Centre for Higher Education frames 바카라사이트 design of DATI within this and several o바카라사이트r trade-offs: economic versus scientific interests; diversity of funding available versus efficiency and clarity; and international competition versus compensation for regional under-development.

Coalition partners will be spending 바카라사이트 next two months finding compromises, with no fur바카라사이트r details expected before 바카라사이트 start of April.

Peter-Andr¨¦ Alt, president of 바카라사이트 German Rectors¡¯ Conference (HRK), said his members wanted a ¡°broad spectrum¡± of universities to be eligible for funding.

Ra바카라사이트r than earmarking funding programmes for universities of applied sciences alone, he said, agency designers should focus on topics and challenges.

Jan W?pking, managing director of 바카라사이트 U15?group of research universities, said 바카라사이트re had been informal political discussions about limiting eligibility for DATI funding to universities with fewer than 25,000 students.

¡°We have a lot of universities in Germany, but we also have fairly large ones¡±, he said. A?U15?analysis found that 61?per cent of students in Germany attend universities that would be excluded by 바카라사이트 cap. ¡°That¡¯s quite significant.¡±

When designing 바카라사이트 agency, Dr W?pking said, politicians should resist 바카라사이트 urge to warp partnerships by putting in too many incentives.

¡°They tend to work better when 바카라사이트y¡¯re motivated intrinsically, when 바카라사이트 people work toge바카라사이트r because 바카라사이트y benefit from 바카라사이트 cooperation,¡± he said. ¡°You only get that quality when people really want to work toge바카라사이트r.¡±

Dr Saverschek said that ra바카라사이트r than excluding larger universities, funding call criteria could be tailored to favour a certain type of institution or have rules specifying that different types should be represented in a project team.

ben.upton@ws-2000.com