HAWs demand higher funding for research

BERLIN/FULDA. The German universities of applied sciences (UAS) used their annual strategy conference in Berlin to discuss new scholarship programmes for applied research and transfer at UAS with representatives from federal politics.

The focus was on the design of the funding instruments for HAWs mentioned in the coalition agreement and their financial resources. Specific position papers were developed and adopted by the Presidential Board Offices as part of presentations, workshops and panel discussions. Fulda University President Prof Dr Karim Khakzar, federal spokesperson for the German UASs in the years 2016 to 2022, played a key role in this by giving a presentation and leading a workshop. "The HAWs had invited Federal Research Minister Bär, the science policy spokespersons of all parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag and other experts from the science sector to the conference," reported Khakzar.

The conference thus offered the opportunity to discuss the positions of the HAWs with Federal Minister Dorothee Bär, who emphasised the importance of the HAWs for securing the future viability of German business in her welcoming address to the Presidential Board Offices and promised her support, among other things, through the establishment of a German Applied Research Association, DAFG for short. However, she has not yet been able to make any concrete commitments regarding funding amounts. Prof Khakzar used the meeting to explain the HAWs' proposals and to campaign for better funding for HAWs overall.

Role of UASs as drivers of innovation in their respective regions
More than one million students are now enrolled at UASs, and more than 21,000 professors teach and conduct research at this type of university. Thanks to their strong roots in their respective regions and established contacts with small and medium-sized enterprises, UASs act as important drivers of innovation when it comes to the application of new research findings in practice. In the opinion of the HAWs, however, their potential is far from exhausted. For years, the HAWs have therefore been calling on the federal and state governments to provide significantly better funding for research and transfer in order to fully fulfil their role as drivers of innovation and thus make an important contribution to the long-awaited economic upturn.

"While universities are supported by the German Research Foundation with around four billion euros a year, there is no comparatively well-funded sponsor for UASs. We have been criticising this imbalance for years," emphasised the Fulda university president. At the urging of the HAWs, the traffic light government had announced the establishment of a German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (DATI). However, its realisation was a long time coming and the DATI was shelved with the failure of the traffic light government - much to the regret of the HAWs. The current federal government of CDU/CSU and SPD finally agreed to establish a new German Application Research Association (DAFG) in its coalition agreement in 2025, which would primarily focus on HAWs. According to the federal government, the DAFG is to be the new umbrella for existing and proven scholarship programmes for HAWs, most of which are short-term and will expire by 2028 at the latest. According to the coalition agreement, the federal government is also planning new funding formats for transfer activities.

Fulda University of Applied Sciences has benefited greatly from federal and state scholarship programmes to date
Fulda University of Applied Sciences has been very successful in participating in calls for proposals from the federal and state governments. For example, the establishment of the Fulda Regional Innovation Centre for Health and Quality of Life (RIGL Fulda) was supported over five years with a total of around ten million euros. An important project to attract professors to Fulda University of Applied Sciences called ProGEPP was also supported with a total of 7.4 million euros. "Fulda University of Applied Sciences has benefited from both funding lines and has been able to successfully establish structures at the university and in the region," summarises Khakzar.

However, both federal and state scholarship programmes have now expired or will expire at the beginning of 2027. The university president continues: "The establishment of a new DAFG would give Fulda University of Applied Sciences the perspective to continue and stabilise the important and successful development work and ultimately also strengthen the innovative power of the region." In conversation with Federal Minister Bär, Khakzar pointed out the urgency of new scholarship programmes that would ideally enable the seamless renewal of established initiatives. A working group has now been set up by the federal and state governments. It is to develop the key points by the summer so that a binding federal-state agreement on the establishment of a DAFG can be signed this year.

Discussions with Defence Minister Pistorius on the role of universities
Following the HAW conference, some presidents, including University President Khakzar, had the opportunity to exchange views with the Federal Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, on the possibilities of collaboration with universities. The Presidential Board Offices reported on their experiences with conducting dual-use research - i.e. security-related research -, the role of the humanities and social sciences as well as projects on defence research. The exchange was intended to be the prelude to further discussions on the contribution of universities in security-related research. Defence Minister Pistorius would like to see more involvement from universities in the future in order to better prepare Germany for the future against the backdrop of global political challenges. It was agreed that the freedom of research and teaching guaranteed in the Basic Law should not be called into question under any circumstances.