University of Excellence
LMU will use its funding as University of Excellence for the continuous expansion of its position as an international top-level university.
LMU was funded continuously throughout the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments (2005-2019) in the “Institutional Strategy” funding line. Since 2019, the Excellence Initiative has been continued in modified form in the “Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments to further strengthen cutting-edge research at universities”. In the Excellence Strategy, LMU has successfully been awarded its current status as “University of Excellence".
This long-term funding offers LMU the opportunity to further develop its successful strategy from the two previous funding rounds of the Excellence competitions and expand its position as an international top-level university through the long-term strategy program, LMUexcellent – A New Perspective.
LMU’s funding as University of Excellence will be initially provided until 2026 and will be continued following a successful interim evaluation. Within the framework of LMUexcellent, LMU offers a broad range of funding opportunities for established researchers as well as early-career researchers.
Overall strategy
Based on LMU’s research profile, its strategy program LMUexcellent – A New Perspective comprises five strategic fields of action guiding a number of measures aimed at enhancing LMU's overall scientific performance:
- People (attracting the best scientific minds)
- Campus (developing LMU’s locations driven by research)
- Investments (creating top-level research infrastructures and framework conditions)
- Partners (research collaborations and scientific networks)
- Governance (science-oriented instruments of decision-making)
Implementation of all measures is guided by three cross-cutting issues which LMU considers to hold extended potential for action and development.
The LMU community is characterized by the diversity of the University’s members, from teaching and studies to research and administration. LMU values this diversity as a factor of success and promotes an environment which encourages all of its members to contribute their talents and in which respect, appreciation and support are actively practiced. Therefore, equal opportunities and inclusion are firmly anchored in LMU's principles of governance. LMU's Diversity Management maintains a broad network of specialized consultation and service offers.
LMU is an international top-level university. It maintains an extensive network and cooperates with renowned partners around the world, at all levels from teaching and studies to research and administration. An even stronger orientation towards internationalization in research, teaching and studies, the promotion of junior academics, and governance is the basis of LMU's long-term development planning.
LMU meets the opportunities and challenges of a global digital transformation by establishing promising fields and methodologies of research, e.g. in the fields of artificial intelligence or the digital humanities, by developing innovative teaching formats, by investing in top-level infrastructure, and by promoting networking activities with outstanding cooperation partners – e.g. within the framework of the Bavarian state government’s Hightech Agenda Bayern (in German).
Core functions
LMU’s overall strategy is based on the University’s four core functions: research, teaching, promotion of junior academics, and societal impact. The measures of LMUexcellent are implemented within this framework to increase LMU’s overall scientific performance.
Governance
It is part of LMU's organizational identity to ensure optimal conditions for research and study to its academics and students alike. LMU’s organizational structures in science and administration are based on this guiding aim. The University’s governance is thus consistently aligned with the quality and steering requirements of its overall strategy as a University of Excellence. In this, LMU relies on a balanced mix of top-down and bottom-up elements.
The University has continuously developed its research profile and significantly increased its international visibility based on university-wide strategy processes and its participation in the German Excellence Competitions.
Equal opportunities and internationality have been established as guiding principles of LMU’s governance and form the basis of the recruitment strategy within LMUexcellent. In addition, digitalization represents an important cross-cutting issue.
Funding opportunities
The Investment Fund provides seed funding for the procurement of large-scale third-party funding projects directed at innovative research ideas and the establishment of new research fields.
The Junior Researcher Fund promotes the individual career development of junior academics (who have gained no more than six years of professional academic experience since having completed their doctorate) by providing support for the independent procurement of externally funded and peer-reviewed research projects, particularly of prestigious research prizes and awards directed at junior academics.
The Junior Researcher Fund offers two funding lines: seed funding for the support of preliminary activities for third-party funding applications and sabbaticals, allowing applicants to focus on their research project.
Download the application guidelines:
The Postdoc Support Fund provides additional resources to LMU’s individual faculties to facilitate flexible, subject-specific promotion of postdoctoral researchers, particularly for the recruitment of international postdocs, to facilitate the continuation of scientific activity, e.g. following periods of parental leave or care for relatives (re-entry funding), for networking activities, as well as for open-access publishing activities.
Further information on the individual faculties‘ offers is available in the Academic Careers portal.
The Knowledge Transfer Fund provides seed funding for projects aimed at the development of basic research into technological, social or economic innovations.
Download the application guideline:
Online Information Event
An online information event on the Investment Fund, Junior Researcher Fund and Knowledge Transfer Fund will be offered on Wendesday, January 29, 2025 (10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.)
Contact
Dr. Susanne Weber
Unit Research Strategy
Coordination Excellence Strategy
Funded within the framework of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder.
