New University Contract Signed

Last June, the Free State of Bavaria and the presidents of the Bavarian universities signed the "Framework Contract Universities 2023 to 2027". This framework agreement is the basis for the university contract signed by University President Paul Pauli and Bavaria's Minister of Science Markus Blume in Munich on 21 September 2023.

Paul Pauli: Very Well Positioned for the Future

"The framework agreement signed in June 2023 and the individual university contract derived from it are a new instrument for strategic university management and at the same time provide our university with medium-term financial planning security," said Pauli at the signing ceremony.

The agreement formulates "important guidelines for the development and strategic advancement of JMU in ten fields of action and is therefore the basis for our future actions in many respects", Pauli continued.

Based on a multi-stage discussion process, JMU's profile was shaped by selecting five areas of action: studies and teaching, research, transfer, digitalisation and sustainability. "Drawing up the agreement in close dialogue with the Ministry of Science was a creative and productive process, the result of which puts us in a very good position for the future," explained Pauli.

Markus Blume: Biggest University Offensive of All Time

Science Minister Markus Blume described the signing of the agreements by a total of 33 Bavarian state universities, universities of applied sciences, technical universities and art colleges as the "culmination of the largest university offensive of all time". "Our universities are setting themselves ambitious goals with the greatest possible planning security - the full diversity and excellence of the Bavarian academic landscape unfolds in the 33 individual university contracts," said Blume.

Bavaria is accompanying and supporting the universities in particular by stabilising the 5.5 billion euro High-Tech Agenda and further increasing the strategy funds. "This way, Bavaria will remain the No. 1 state for science!" said the Minister.

Background Information

The framework agreement applies to all Bavarian universities. It addresses the following ten fields of action:

• Study and teaching, continuing education
• research
• Impact on society and transfer
• University staff, promotion of young talent and talented students
• Equality, equal opportunities, inclusion
• Internationalisation
• Cooperations and alliances
• Digital transformation, digitalisation in science, teaching and administration
• Sustainability, climate protection
• Quality assurance in research, teaching and administration

The objectives set out in the framework agreement for these ten fields of action are automatically part of the individual university contract. However, the objectives from the framework agreement are concretised in the university contract; the university can also define further objectives of its own in this contract.

In fact, the university contract contains concretely formulated goals for each of these ten fields of action for JMU, each with binding indicators, minimum requirements and a forecast for possible goal achievement.

The objectives and measures for achieving the objectives are financed via the basic funding and the strategy fund, which is available to the university for profile development in selected fields of action. The university contract specifies which fields of action and objectives are financed from which source.

The University Board will provide the Ministry with information on the respective progress for the first time by 30 June 2026 in an interim report and at the end of the term of the higher education agreement in a final report. Depending on how well the respective goals are achieved, this may also have financial consequences for JMU.

Download the university agreement (in German, PDF, 1 MB, barrier-free).