With the Programme for Excellence, the university aims to strengthen promising areas in the humanities and social sciences and bring them into a dialogue that transcends faculty boundaries. The programme also promotes highly talented researchers and expands networks in the region, nationwide and internationally. The state government of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation are supporting this project with 22.5 million euros over five years (01.10.2025-30.09.2030) as part of the "Strategically developing potential" funding line of the zukunft.niedersachsen programme.

The university promotes the exchange of knowledge and the development of innovative solutions for social challenges by pursuing three core objectives:

These measures promote dialogue between the humanities and social sciences and other scientific fields in order to better understand and shape the major transformations of the 21st century. The university is strengthening its cutting-edge research, building future areas of excellence and establishing itself as the centre of a strong north-west innovation region and as Lower Saxony's academic bridgehead to the Netherlands.