Ulm University is one of the best young universities in the world, as is confirmed by not just one but two renowned rankings: the Times Higher Education “100 under 50 Ranking” and the QS World University Ranking “Top 50 under 50”. Reason enough for the Swabian university to showcase its flagship projects in the United States. Representatives from the International Graduate School in Molecular Medicine Ulm, the Medical Faculty and the Faculty of Natural Sciences selected the “European Career Fair” (ECF) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston/Cambridge as the ideal platform to present their flagship projects. Ulm’s scientists find themselves in the best of company on 21 February: Heidelberg University, Technische Universität München and ETH Zurich are just some of the exhibitors regularly present at the ECT.
They will be joined by funding institutions such as the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG), non-university research organisations and groups of companies – including Zeiss AG and Bayer. The objective behind the international fair: brilliant minds are to get to know European employers and, above all, find out about attractive research opportunities in the “Old World”. Ulm University also hopes to establish interesting contacts to US companies and research institutions. Flagships at the ECF One of Ulm University’s flagships at the career fair is the International Graduate School in Molecular Medicine Ulm, which has received funding from the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal and State Governments since 2007.
In Boston, Managing Director PD Dr Dieter Brockmann will once again present the focal areas addressed by the Graduate School – from Development, Ageing/Degeneration and Cardio-Metabolic Disorders to the Haematopoetic System/Oncology and Trauma Research. A total of 200 young researchers from 22 different countries are currently working towards a PhD at the English-language Graduate School. Numerous PhD graduates have already embarked on successful academic careers at leading research institutions. “The ECF represents an outstanding opportunity for us to recruit excellent early career researchers, to establish contacts and to intensify scientific cooperation,” states Brockmann.
And indeed Ulm’s natural scientists have a lot to offer. Their research into electrochemical energy conversion and storage may help ensure that the energy turnaround is a success. Ulm has a long history of excelling in electrochemistry, and is one of Germany’s top institutes when it comes to experimentation and theory. It is given a further boost by the Ulm Helmholtz Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage (HIU), which was inaugurated a few months ago. The chemists, physicists and engineers also collaborate by conducting research into tomorrow’s mobility. In particular, frontier research is performed by researchers headed by physics professors Fedor Jelezko and Martin Plenio, and the chemist Prof Tanja Weil. Just over a year ago, the BioQ group managed to attract a Synergy Grant worth € 10 million – the European Research Council’s most highly endowed research instrument.
The scientists seek to understand how fundamental biological processes work, keeping a constant eye on the laws of quantum physics. To this end, they are developing novel sensing technologies that shed light on the structure and function of individual bio-molecules under physiological conditions. Their key assistant: minute synthetic diamonds. The knowledge generated by the interdisciplinary group BioQ could contribute towards the development of pharmaceuticals, for example, or may help enhance imaging processes.Interdisciplinarity is also a top priority in the IQST project, involving Ulm and Stuttgart universities and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. Here, physicists, chemists, mathematicians and engineers are conducting joint research into quantum science. Potential applications include superfast quantum computers, an absolutely secure quantum internet and novel sensors.
One thing is for certain: in the USA, the birthplace of Albert Einstein will present itself as an attractive, dynamic university city somewhere between tradition and modernity. Ulm University acts as a catalyst for the Science City, which offers researchers numerous possibilities to cooperate with companies such as Daimler, Siemens and BMW. Located in Southwest Germany – between Stuttgart and Munich – the university provides young researchers with ideal career development opportunities.