The Institute for Advanced Study has been promoting cutting-edge research in the North West since 1997 - and has developed into an interdisciplinary meeting place. A guest article by Bijan Kafi.
On 13 October, exactly 25 years to the day after its opening, the staff of the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK) in Delmenhorst celebrated two and a half decades of successful research funding with more than 200 guests at an anniversary reception. Founded in 1997 as a joint project between the states of Bremen and Lower Saxony and the city of Delmenhorst, the HWK has since become an important part of the north-west German science region. As a so-called "Institute for Advanced Study", it follows the model of the Institute of the same name at Princeton University (USA) - and supports individual academics from all over the world through fellowships.
"As a place of academic liberalism and pluralism, the HWK gives scientists the freedom to spend around ten months researching on a project undisturbed - often in co-operation with universities in the region," explains the Rector of the HWK, Kerstin Schill. The Professor of Neuroinformatics at the University of Bremen has headed the research institution since 2018. The aim of the HWK's activities is to strengthen the research focus of the universities of Oldenburg and Bremen and to network the north-west German research institutions even better.
Interdisciplinary encounters
Every year, around 60 fellows find their way to Delmenhorst. After 25 years, the HWK's alumni network comprises more than 700 people worldwide, including Nobel Prize winners. "Outstanding scientists from the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences come together at the HWK to work on their projects undisturbed by academic obligations. Here they meet artists and authors with academic interests in an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and interdisciplinarity," emphasises HWK Rector Kerstin Schill.
For many of the fellows, the opportunity to work with colleagues from the University of Oldenburg's energy and marine research-oriented institutes, such as the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) or the ForWind Centre for Wind Energy Research, is particularly attractive. For some years now, the HWK has also been supporting young scientists from Oldenburg and Bremen as part of a post-doctoral programme.
Academic event centre
With around 120 events a year - from small workshops to international conferences - the Institute is also a central academic event centre in the region. In addition, the HWK organises a public, popular science lecture programme, which has so far attracted around 12,000 people from a large catchment area. The invited scientists report on their research and enter into dialogue with the audience - often on controversial issues that affect society as a whole.
25 years after its foundation, the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg is facing exciting new challenges. In the future, the Kolleg would like to expand its dialogue with the public even further by focusing on the social framework conditions of science, such as issues relating to the quality and freedom of science, the consequences of advancing digitalisation and the widespread use of artificial intelligence. With the new focal points of digitalisation, quality of science, artificial intelligence and a broad digital offering, the HWK is looking to the future with confidence.
