Institutional Strategy II
The Institutional Strategy II aims two achieve two major objectives: making a substantial contribution to top-level research in Germany and participating in the global competition of universities. To this end, RWTH will fully exploit its scientific potential and meet the complex challenges of the future with holistic research strategies. In the long run, RWTH aims to sharpen and strengthen its international scientific profile in close cooperation with Forschungszentrum Jülich.
As of 2012, a revised version will complete what was successfully initiated by the first Institutional Strategy in 2007. The achievements of the first funding period of the Excellence Initiative will provide the foundation on which RWTH Aachen’s transformation to an Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Technology will be built. To reach this goal, four measures were defined within the scope of the Institutional Strategy II:
Measure 1 - Internationally Recognized Scientific Profile
RWTH will advance its internationally recognized scientific profile by leveraging the strength of its core competencies in the engineering and natural sciences. Moreover, decisive steps will be taken to integrate the humanities, economics and medicine in order to tackle problems of great scientific, technological and societal relevance. To this end, RWTH will further strengthen the natural sciences and systematically promote interdisciplinary research. In context of this measure the project house IMF contributes to foster interdisciplinary research.
Measure 2 - JARA: Focusing Competences – Shaping the Future
The Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) between RWTH Aachen and Forschungszentrum Jülich will continue the strategic cooperation that serves as a role model for uniting program and discipline-based research in Germany. JARA will expand in dedicated fields by means of joint strategic planning of research, teaching and infrastructure development (JARA Institutes).
Measure 3 - Place to Be
Additionally, RWTH Aachen is implementing mechanisms to attract the world’s best and brightest researchers and students, thus creating an exceptional environment for learning, expanding and disseminating fundamental knowledge.
Measure 4 - Corporate Governance and Structures
The second funding phase introduces novel mechanisms of collaboration, competition, and administration. By establishing cross-faculty profile areas, interdisciplinary research concerning relevant issues of the future will be considerably strengthened.