Lichtgedanken 05

Rubrik 8 ce to apply for funding to become a Uni- versity of Excellence. In order to prepare for this, we had to put a very broad stra- tegy in place—a strategy that involved all of the different status groups at the University. We analysed the current si- tuation very closely and discussed the future of the University. Ultimately, we owe this second cluster to an intensive strategic process, and one that is still on- going. How will the University of Jena cont- inue to strenghten its profile over the coming years? We are currently working on a strategy document, which is expected to be pas- sed in mid-2019. In it we describe how we will structure our University over the next five to six years; not only in the field of research, but also in teaching and the promotion of young talent. Our motto for this is »Light, Life, Liberty— Connecting Visions«. Can you elaborate? The slogan describes the main lines of the Friedrich Schiller University as a multidisciplinary university and we want to stay this way. Our focus now is on strengthening the focal research areas of Light, Life and Liberty. These areas are interdisciplinary, but they each have a specific thematic direction. The aim of our strategic process now is to link the research areas that have already begun to bear fruit in recent years. We want to provide themwith resources and to give them a structural anchor: each area will be given a seat in the Senate, alongsi- de the faculties. »Connecting Visions« is our guiding principle for all of these measures. What is the role of the »minor discipli- nes« and research groups that are not assigned to the focal research areas in the strategic process? Each subject has its own role at the Uni- versity. In establishing our profile, we do not want to streamline the subjects on offer at our University. Disciplinary diversity is our strength. There is no pressure to fit in somewhere. Each re- searcher can decide where they partici- pate. I have always been interested in the so-called »minor disciplines« and I still am. They are important and also contribute to large collaborative pro- jects. Does that mean that there will still be scope for individual research at the University of Jena in the future? Of course. The focal research areas are important with their great collabora- tions. But we also need individual re- search to reach new insights and come up with new ideas. We currently have over 260 individual projects on the go at the University, funded by the German Research Foundation. And I am convin- ced that a university must always make room for both these aspects: individual research and collaborative research. As far as I am concerned, they are both equally important. How do you view the national and in- ternational standing of our University with its Cluster of Excellence and its profile? The slogan »Light, Life, Liberty—Connecting Visions« describes the focal research areas of the Friedrich Schiller University as a multidisciplinary university and we want to stay this way.