KIT 2025 Strategy

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) consistently continues its role of pioneer in the German science system. As “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association,” the KIT will make full use of its synergy potential. In the years to come, the duties of a national research institution and of a state university will be merged further step by step.

Henceforth, the KIT will concentrate even more strongly on the topics of Energy, Mobility, and Information. In this way, the KIT aligns its major research areas to the long-term challenges facing society in order to develop sustainable solutions of urgent problems of the future. Energy, mobility, and information have traditionally been strong research areas at the KIT; their perfect merger in fundamental research and their application are essential, for instance, to the success of the “energiewende.”

Promoting young scientists is just as important an objective of the KIT as the education of students. Especially in the phase of working for a doctorate as the first step in a career, the KIT intends to offer good starting opportunities to its graduates.

In its research strategy, the KIT intends to merge even more closely natural sciences, engineering, economics, humanities and social sciences.

The KIT Emphasizes Innovation Culture and a Founding Spirit

The KIT is already very strong in acquiring third-party funds and is one of the most successful universities in the research atlas of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG. As a university supporting startup companies, the KIT won the 2013 competition by the Federal Ministry of Economics. In 2014 alone, 33 firms were launched in the environment of the KIT. The KIT spinoff, Restube, won the German startup award in the startup category in 2015. The KIT is among the 100 most innovative universities in the world (Reuters TOP 100 Ranking 2015), supporting staff members and students alike in launching promising ideas on the market. “Innovation to us means applying scientific findings,” says Hanselka. “From an idea to its solution, we at the KIT work on projects benefitting society, a healthy economy, and the preservation of the natural foundations of life.” In order to further underline the importance of innovation, the KIT, among other things, has created a new Presidential Function for Innovation and International Affairs effective January 1st, 2016.

Making Full Use of KIT Synergies

Fully unfolding the synergies of the KIT is another important objective of the KIT 2025 Strategy. Thus, a public law in 2009 made possible the courageous step of merging a state university and a national research center, but the KIT to this day has worked on separate funds from state and federal sources, and there are different regulations in place also in other areas. It is imperative that these administrative obstacles be removed together with the federation and the state. One opportunity is coming up now for the first time with the relaxation of the ban on cooperation in the German Basic Law (Article 91 b), which will now make it possible for the federal government to fund permanently individual universities and institutes.

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