"Small anniversary"

EINBLICKE is celebrating a small anniversary. This is the 25th issue of the research magazine, which has been published twice a year since 1985 and has published 174 articles by Oldenburg academics to date. At that time, the University of Oldenburg was one of the first universities in Germany to publish its own magazine in order to present a small selection of the diversity of its research projects to a wider public. The magazine deliberately sets itself apart from relevant specialist publications. The editors encourage the scientists to present their projects briefly and in a coherent manner, to free themselves as far as possible from specialised terminology, to write clearly and to develop the courage to simplify the often complex subject matter. For some, this goes too far, but many have come to understand that today, more than ever before, research needs to radiate beyond the specialist public in order to legitimise itself.

In times when the public sector has less and less money to allocate, competition is growing and the market mechanisms that have always existed in the scientific community are taking on a different quality. Tapping into new sources of funding involves a lot of persuasion - advertising on one's own behalf. A glance across the ocean gives an idea of the role that university marketing will one day play in our country.

For EINBLICKE, too, funds have to be raised issue by issue because the regular budget cannot pay for printing. Advertisements are the main source of income. The fact that the regional economy is particularly involved is gratefully recognised. However, EINBLICKE also reaches an important target group for advertisers in the fields of business, culture and politics. In addition, quite a few journalists repeatedly take up EINBLICKE topics and carry them into the mass media nationwide - an undoubtedly desirable effect that will hopefully also materialise with the 25th issue of the research magazine. Wolfgang Krumbein's article on the "Living Being Earth" alone offers enough material for discussion. Yours

Gerhard Harms