In her speech, President Jutta Günther took stock of the university's success. In a brief overview of the past year's successes, she reviewed some of the University of Bremen's highlights: For example, researchers from the Institute of Environmental Physics were involved in a further development of ESA earth observation satellites. In the TCALL project, a teaching facility for nurses is being set up, which is a flagship project to improve the quality of nursing care. The University of Bremen has also enjoyed a particularly successful run in the European Commission's prestigious European Grants funding line. It received six ERC grants last year and was successful in all funding lines of the ERC competition.

The University's Social Responsibility

President Jutta Günther also addressed the current crises in her speech. She referred to the growing importance of the university's social responsibility. Global crises and a shift to the right in Germany have made it more necessary than ever for universities to position themselves clearly.
The latest revelations of anti-democratic and misanthropic efforts have alarmed the university. "What is being planned on the extreme fringes of society is a threat to people at my university and a danger to academic freedom." Bremen's academic institutions have responded to these efforts with a joint public declaration under the heading "Democracy. Diversity. Open-Mindedness."

In view of the wars and emergencies in the world, the university president emphasized that we can no more afford apathy than we can a lack of compassion and solidarity. "Our solidarity stands for the resolute rejection of misanthropy and terrorism. The resolute rejection of anti-Semitism in any form – no tolerance towards attacks on Jews. And, of course, our solidarity also means a firm rejection of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism in any form."
"Universities are not islands. They are part of society. Right in the middle of it," said the president. "In this sense, we are forming a strong academic community in Bremen with the aim of helping to find knowledge and truth and providing young people with educational opportunities."

25 New Professors Welcomed

The 20 newly appointed professors at the University of Bremen and the 5 newly appointed professors at Constructor University were also welcomed at the New Year's Reception.
The traditional New Year's Reception for the University of Bremen and the Constructor University (formerly Jacobs University) is organized by the "unifreunde" Association. The aim of the association is to support academics.