Humboldt University Berlin

Two hundred years ago, in 1810, Wilhelm von Humboldt's vision of a new type of university became reality. The newly founded Prussian alma mater was the first to introduce the unity of research and teaching, to uphold the ideal of research without restrictions and to provide a comprehensive education for its students. These principles of Wilhelm von Humboldt and a select group of contemporaries soon became general practice throughout the world. A new era of university and academic research had begun.

Humboldt's ideal of the coexistence of research and teaching has become a model for universities all over the world. Central to this model is the idea of research-oriented teaching and the transfer of knowledge from the spirit of research. Students and teachers are joined together in an endeavour to critically examine traditional bodies of knowledge and to actively advance learning. For this reason, the Humboldt-Universität promotes social and communicative competences among all of its members and supports their initiatives wherever it can.

Since its foundation, Humboldt-Universität has been a universitas litterarum embracing all major scientific disciplines in the humanities and arts, social and cultural sciences, mathematics and natural sciences, medicine and agricultural sciences. The profile of Humboldt research is reflected in Clusters of Excellence, ten DFG Collaborative Research Centers and in 13 Research Training Groups in which Humboldt-Universität has the coordinating function.

Humboldt-Universität also plays a significant role in the DFG Research Center Matheon. Being aware of the growing need for interdisciplinary research, Humboldt began to set up ad hoc Integrative Research Institutes and Interdisciplinary Centres across faculty boundaries, some of which include Collaborative Research Centres.