Where excellence constantly grows

Hunger for education and thirst for knowledge are part of Münster’s “staple diet”. Münster lives from education and science. To some degree quite literally, considering that the University and the University Hospital are the city’s biggest employers.

Around 200 students per 1,000 inhabitants – a concentration of this density is unique among Germany’s great cities. The approx. 60,000 students enrolled at nine universities – among them the WWU [Münster University] itself, one of the biggest universities in Germany – give the venerable Hansa town its conspicuously youthful face. The young people are attracted not only by the special quality of life but above all by the rich science and research landscape of the city.

Institutes of the Max Planck and Fraunhofer Societies and the Helmholtz Association or the enterprises in the Technology Park, the Centre for Nanotechnology (CeNTech) and the Nano-Bioanalytics Centre (NBZ) form the foundation for Münster’s reputation as a leading scientific location of international standing. Especially in the field of nanotechnology, Münster has become firmly established as a science city of European rank, and is firmly on course for further growth. In the Science Park, two major new university research facilities are currently under construction: the Multiscale Imaging Centre and the Centre for Soft Nanoscience. And the international reputation and excellent links of the MEET battery research project have been crucial factors in making Münster the winner in the hard-fought contest for the location of the new partially central government funded Battery Cell Production Research Facility.

With the University Hospital and its affiliated research institutes and laboratories and a dense network of excellent hospitals and clinics, the leading city of the Münsterland region, where over 17,000 people are employed in the health sector, is able to present itself as a “health city” of the first order. And a group of hitherto hidden champions have finally found the recognition they deserves: Münster’s mathematicians, who have long been unsung stars in their field, are now engaged in the current Cluster of Excellence in research into the triad of “Dynamic – Geometry – Structure”.

In the field of the humanities and social sciences, Münster University’s Cluster of Excellence entitled “Religion and Politics: Dynamics of Tradition and Innovation” – the biggest coordinated research network devoted to the subject of religions in the whole of Germany – provides an excellent basis for a contemporary examination of the sensitive relationship between religion and politics.

And in the “Alliance for Science”, the city joins up with the tertiary education and research sector and local businesses to pool resources in highlighting Münster’s profile as a city of science and savoir vivre and strengthening its standing in the international competition between cities.
In this process, the spotlight is turned on five theme areas in particular: “Nanobioanalysis” and “Health” can be seen as representing business sectors of the future in which Münster and the Münsterland are already strongly established. The structures of the nanobioanalysis research network are excellent and of international importance, a fact that is also reflected in the many international conferences and congresses that are held in Münster. A further focal area is the Peace Treaty of Westphalia. With the annual series of events under the heading “Münster 1648 – Dialogues for Peace”, Münster is able to showcase its historical competence in this field. The fourth key theme area is Münster as a “City of Education”, which is also reflected in the close ties between science and schools. And as a new addition to the list, the field of “Sustainable Urban Development” is one to which the University of Applied Sciences, in particular, is able to contribute its proven research strengths.

The keen interest in science and research also manifests itself in Münster in the various forms of science communication, including exhibitions, school projects, lecture series, the Science Pub or the “Schlauraum” science festival. All of these play a part in the process of science transfer to the general public.

Some interesting facts & figures (perhaps worth following up further?)

Münster University is among the leading universities in both Germany and the whole of Europe in terms of the number of schoolteachers it is responsible for training.
In 2012, Münster was one of the victors in the “City of Science – Finale” competition held by the Founders Association for German Science. It scored in particular through the close collaboration between business, the knowledge sector and the city, which is now firmly institutionally anchored in the strategic network “Münster Alliance for Science” between the city, the business sector, the University and the University of Applied Sciences.
Münster has nine universities: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität (Münster University), Fachhochschule Münster (Münster University of Applied Sciences), Kunstakademie Münster (Academy of Fine Arts Münster), Katholische Hochschule NRW (Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-Westphalia), Hochschule des Bundes für öffentliche Verwaltung (Federal University of Administrative Sciences), Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen (University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration and Management of North Rhine-Westphalia), Deutsche Hochschule der Polizei (German Police University), Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Münster (Münster University of Philosophy & Theology), FOM Hochschule für Ökonomie und Management (University for Economics and Management).
As a “full university”, Münster University has 15 faculties and some 44,000 students, making it one of Germany’s biggest institutes of tertiary education. Together with the University Hospital, it is also the city’s biggest employer.
With over 14,000 students, Münster University of Applied Sciences (founded 1971) is one of Germany’s biggest universities of applied sciences; it is also the first university of applied sciences in Germany to have system accreditation and is therefore able to assure the quality of its own teaching.
Münster has a strong non-university research sector. Thus, in addition to the Max Planck Institute, it is also home to two Fraunhofer Institutes as well as a Helmholtz Institute.
With a rate of over 20%, Münster has the highest student population density of all cities in Germany with over 300,000 inhabitants
“Neue Wände” (New Walls), held every few years in the Theater Münster, is one of the biggest festivals of university art and culture in Germany.