15/05/2020 | Since 2016, the University of Bremen and all non-university research institutions in Bremen and Bremerhaven funded by the federal and state governments – including the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) – have been working together under the name U Bremen Research Alliance. The colleaboration is now being further consolidated by the establishment of a non-profit association that helps its members and international scientists to create an inspiring research environment and excellent consulting and service offerings.

From the deep sea to space – the U Bremen Research Alliance chose this slogan to describe their comprehensive research spectrum. There are also many staff members: More than 6,000 people work at the institutes belonging to the U Bremen Research Alliance. “We have an especially close cooperation in four interdisciplinary high-profile research areas that span across institutions,” explains Professor Iris Pigeot, acting alliance chairwoman and director of the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS. Said areas are Marine, Polar, and Climate Research; Material Sciences and Technologies; Health Sciences; and Minds, Media, Machines, which has everything to do with information, cognition, and robotics.

Welcome Center Makes Start in Bremen Easier

The alliance’s tasks are diverse. In this way the alliance strengthens research cooperations, plans these strategically, and makes them visible to the outside world. The heart of the alliance is not only comprised of the joint usage of infrastructures for collaborative research projects but rather the U Bremen Research Alliance also offers multifold services and consultations. One example is the U Bremen Research Alliance Welcome Center, which makes arriving and settling for visiting scientists and international guests easier. For example, said persons and their families receive support with all matters involving official authorities and the search for suitable accommodation.

“We want to offer scientists surroundings with the best possible working conditions, so that they can research freely, creatively, and highly cooperatively,” says Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, chairman of the U Bremen Research Alliance and president of the University of Bremen. “With over 50 cooperation and bridge professors, cooperative early career scientist groups, and thanks to numerous infrastructure and research projects, we are well connected within the alliance.” After all, a strong university promotes strong non-university research institutes. “And strong non-university research institutes promote the development of universities,” summarizes Scholz-Reiter with regards to the alliance’s dynamics.

Who are the members?

The following institutes are cooperating within the frame of the U Bremen Research Alliance:

  1. Alfred-Wegener-Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI)
  2. German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)
  3. DLR Institute of Space Systems
  4. The National Maritime Museum of Germany Institute of the Leibniz Association (DSM)
  5. Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM
  6. Fraunhofer-Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES
  7. Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS
  8. Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology– BIPS
  9. Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering - IWT
  10. Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)
  11. Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPI MM)
  12. University of Bremen

Further Information:

www.uni-bremen.de/research-alliance