
A successful year for research in the German Southwest
From prestigious research awards to a new innovation campus: In 2024, Baden-Württemberg kept his status as a place where research and scientists excel.
Prestigious national awards are a barometer for the success of German research locations.
Concerning Germany’s most prestigious research funding prize, the “Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize” which is also known as the “German nobel prize”, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria came out top. Three out of ten Leibniz Prizes went to scientists from the Universities of Stuttgart, Heidelberg and Freiburg.
About the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize and its winners from THE LÄND in 2024:
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize by the German Research Foundation (DFG) aims to improve the working conditions of outstanding researchers and help them employ particularly qualified early career researchers. A maximum of €2.5 million is provided per award. The awardees are entitled to use these funds for their research work in any way they wish, without bureaucratic obstacles, for up to seven years.
Of the 142 nominees, there were ten prize winners and three are from the German Southwest:
- Professor Dr. Bettina Valeska Lotsch, Solid-State and Materials Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart
- Professor Dr. Wolfram Pernice, Experimental Physics, University of Heidelberg
- Professor Dr. Robert Zeiser, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital Freiburg
Top spot for THE LÄND in ERC Advanced Grants by the EU in 2024
THE LÄND’s research strength is also proven by its competitiveness in supranational grants. In the Europe-wide Advanced Grants of the European Research Council (ERC) which is aimed at experienced scientists who have achieved outstanding results over the past ten years, there were 14 approvals for Baden-Württemberg in 2024. This makes our state the most successful one nationwide. Germany itself took the top spot with 50 approvals within the EU.
Researchers from the The University of Freiburg, the University of Konstanz, the University of Stuttgart, the University of Heidelberg and the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) are among the grantees. Institutions such as the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the EMBL and Baden-Württemberg's Max Planck Institutes for Solid State Research, Astronomy and Biology also succeeded.
Tackling climate change: Fifth innovation campus by THE LÄND
A total of five innovation campus models have been established in Baden-Württemberg in strategically relevant areas: Artificial intelligence (AI), Mobility, Life Sciences, Sustainability and Quantum Technology. The state government is thus creating international beacons on subjects which are already strengths in Baden-Württemberg.
The Sustainability Innovation Campus is the fifth Innovation Campus in Baden-Württemberg and started its work at the beginning of 2024. It aims to provide scientific guidance for the transformation to a sustainable lifestyle. The initial partners Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) have been pooling their expertise and infrastructure for this purpose.
Further reading on our website:
- Portrait about an American researcher at the Innovation Campus Health + Life Science Alliance
- Portrait about a Chinese researcher working with quantum sensors. Here you can read about QuantumBW, the Innovation Campus that focuses on quantum technology.
- About the Innovation Campus Future Mobility
- About Cyber Valley, the Innovation Campus for AI. Also read the portrait about an Iranian AI researcher at Cyber Valley.
A 2024 report shows: THE LÄND, Europe’s No.1 innovation region, is a great place for start-ups
According to the Next Generation Report 2024 of the German Startup Association (Startup-Verband), Heidelberg is the first city in Baden-Württemberg in terms of the number of start-ups per 100,000 inhabitants. With a figure of 13.5 start-ups per 100,000 inhabitants, Heidelberg also overtakes the two start-up hotspots of Munich and Berlin.The other Southwest German university cities Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Stuttgart and Mannheim are among the top 20 in this ranking. In Baden-Württemberg, Europe’s No.1 innovation region, an innovative culture prevails, amongst other things thanks to an excellent research ecosystem which brings about many spin-offs from universities.
Further reading on our website:
- How to found your own start-up in the LÄND
- Read our story about a battery start-up that was co-founded by the director of the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg.
Author: Leonie Rörich