Initially there was great disappointment, but in less than a year's time the efforts to establish a hearing research cluster as part of the Excellence Initiative have paid off: the state of Lower Saxony is funding the joint initiative of the University of Oldenburg, Hannover Medical School and other universities on the topic of "Hearing and its disorders" with 3.75 million euros.
This funding is awarded by the state of Lower Saxony specifically for research centres that have demonstrated their quality in the first selection of the Excellence Initiative of the federal and state governments, but were ultimately not successful. The funding is intended to support the initiative in getting ready for the next round of the Excellence Initiative. "With the help of these funds, we can implement some of the measures planned as part of the Excellence Initiative and press ahead with the development of an internationally visible centre of excellence on the topic of hearing in the north of our republic," says Prof. Dr Georg Klump, zoologist and board member of the "Haus des Hörens e.V." funding association, who is the spokesperson for the initiative together with Prof. Dr Dr Birger Kollmeier.
The plan is to appoint or provide additional funding for a total of eight professorships, three in physics, one in neurobiology and two in psychology in Oldenburg, while two professorships are to be established at Hannover Medical School. These core professorships of the centre of excellence for hearing research are intended to significantly expand the basis for joint large-scale projects on the subject of hearing (such as special research areas or priority programmes) in Oldenburg. At the MHH, the focus on biomedical technology is also to be expanded by strengthening the ENT clinic in this area.
"We see this as an enormous tailwind for our co-operation between Hanover and Oldenburg, which was launched as part of the Lower Saxony Audiology Initiative," say Prof. Kollmeier and Prof. Lenarz (ENT Clinic at MHH), the initiators of this cross-university initiative.
By combining the strengths of the world's largest cochlear implant clinic in Hanover and the world's largest research centre for applied hearing research in Oldenburg, audiology can develop a very special radiance in Lower Saxony - and this is now also being noticed beyond the region. Building on these positive developments, the next hurdles are already being announced: Participation in the cutting-edge cluster competition organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, which focuses particularly on the link between science and industry.