Application requirements are becoming ever more complex, regardless of whether the proposal is for a Collaborative Research Centre, equipment, a research facility or even when submitting a full proposal within the federal and state Excellence Strategy. Especially for young researchers, these increasingly complicated requirements present a sizable hurdle. The new interdisciplinary "Center for Research Strategy and Support" (Res.Ul) has now been established with this in mind. The aim of Res.Ul is to boost Ulm's chances in the fierce competition for external funding and to improve the University's national and international standing.
In Baden-Württemberg, this is the only such centre in existence combining non-medical and medical subjects. "For me, it was of particular importance to get this project started as a joint institute for all the faculties, because I am absolutely convinced that one of Ulm University's great strengths lies in its interdisciplinary research", explains Professor Joachim Ankerhold, vice president for research and information technology.
The experienced Res.Ul staff will be providing support especially in the areas of acquiring external funding and informing about funding opportunities. In addition, the support team will also be involved in expanding the academic infrastructure and developing the University's strategic research focus. The objective of the new centre is to professionalise research support in all of the subject areas. To this end, qualified staff members from various university institutions will be brought together under the Res.Ul roof. "Needless to say, specific subjects have their own cultures. In order to accommodate this fact, we have selected employees with diverse training backgrounds and different areas of knowledge and experience. In the end, however, the application procedures are quite similar - regardless of whether a Collaborative Research Centre, for instance, should be in the area of mathematics, psychology or medicine", Res.Ul head PD Dr Dieter Brockmann relates.
Successful with the Excellence Strategy
Res.UI is already recording its first successes. Staff members worked on project proposals for the federal and state Excellence Strategy, with a positive result for Ulm University in the areas of quantum technology and battery research. The University may now submit full proposals for the excellence clusters in these fields. Res.UI also provided support for the joint proposal InnoSÜD. Within the framework of the federal and state initiative "Innovative University", a total of around 15 million euros has been allocated to Ulm University and its partner universities of applied science in Biberach, Neu-Ulm and Ulm.
The Center for Research Strategy and Support is directly affiliated with the Ulm University Board via the vice president for research and information technology.