Excellence Strategy: The University of Würzburg looks to the future

10/06/2026

The University of Würzburg does not receive funding as a University of Excellence. Nevertheless, the university intends to continue pursuing its strategy developed during the application process.

The University of Würzburg has not been awarded the title of ‘University of Excellence’, but intends to stick to the strategic direction developed during the application process. (Image: Daniel Peter / JMU)

The decision in the federal and state-level Excellence Strategy has been made: The University of Würzburg (JMU) has not been awarded funding under the ‘Universities of Excellence’ funding programme. JMU had previously received positive feedback from the international assessors for its development strategy ‘Empowering for Change’ – but in the end, its competitors prevailed in a close contest. A total of eleven universities and university consortia across Germany had applied.

“We would have loved to bring the title of ‘University of Excellence’ to Würzburg and would have become the first Bavarian University of Excellence outside Munich,” said JMU President Paul Pauli. “Our disappointment today is therefore all the greater. Nevertheless, I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a university community. A unique team spirit has developed here in Würzburg – and the wealth of positive feedback from the evaluation gives us the certainty that we are on the right track. Today’s result does nothing to change that.” The aim now is to build on the momentum of recent months: “We have once again seen the enormous potential that lies within our university and will continue to pursue our development strategy with full vigour.”

“In the fiercest academic competition in the country, the University of Würzburg ranks among Germany’s strongest universities,” adds Markus Blume, Bavarian Minister of State for Science and the Arts. “In the end, we fell just short of the title, partly because, as a single university, we were in direct competition with strong consortia. That should serve as an incentive for the future – because the evaluators have impressively confirmed that the starting position in Würzburg is outstanding. And so today marks not the end of the path to excellence, but a milestone. We’ll simply carry on together here!”

Two clusters of excellence and a clear direction

The starting point for the application for ‘Excellence’ status was a major success for Würzburg in the first funding round of the competition in May 2025: At that time, the team succeeded in securing funding for two so-called Clusters of Excellence – large research consortia in which scientists from various disciplines work on pioneering topics. These are a cluster for research into quantum materials, ctd.qmat, and a cluster for nucleic acid research, NUCLEATE.

Building on this, JMU entered the race with its ‘Empowering for Change’ strategy. The aim is for the university not merely to observe the major challenges and upheavals of our time, but to actively contribute to solving them through research – for example, by investigating new therapeutic approaches to combating diseases, by developing novel (quantum) materials, human-centred artificial intelligence, tackling climate change and species extinction, or through a better understanding of human behaviour and social change.

To this end, the strategy brings together four key areas of action:

The expansion of new and the further development of existing research priorities with even closer interdisciplinary collaboration,
the creation of optimal conditions for outstanding students and researchers to advance their careers and equip them to tackle the challenges of the future,
strengthening the transfer of scientific findings to society, business and politics; and
the promotion of the university’s own capacity for renewal through a cosmopolitan and agile university culture capable of doing justice to the diversity of people and issues.

“We remain committed to this direction and the key objectives of our strategy,” says Pauli. “It provides a clear direction for the further development of our university and remains of the utmost importance to us.” At the same time, the team intends to carefully evaluate the feedback from the review process and further refine the university’s academic profile. In addition, the university will assess which projects can be implemented with existing funds and where additional support will be required. “We are particularly encouraged by Minister Blume’s clear commitment to continuing on this path together,” Pauli continues. “With the Bavarian State Government at our side, we intend to build on JMU’s excellent starting position and develop its strengths in a targeted manner.”