In 2014, Rector Professor Schiewer again sends a personal Christmas message to the alumni of the University of Freiburg. He provides an outlook on the projects planned for his second term and thanks donors for supporting the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship program. Here is a video of the rector’s Christmas message and the full text in English:

Dear alumni,

Dear friends and supporters of the University of Freiburg,

I am pleased to cast a glance over our university together with you at the end of the year. After a year of many changes, I would first like to cast my glance forward, into the future:

I have a special goal for my second term as rector of this university: to make this outstanding academic institution into a magnet for the brightest minds from around the world. I have an excellent team at my side to help me achieve this goal, including three new vice presidents – responsible for academic affairs; research integrity, gender, and diversity; and innovation and technology transfer, respectively – who assumed office on 1 October. I am looking forward to working with this new team!

We have our work cut out for us:

In cooperation with the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, we want to make Freiburg into a national forerunner in sustainability research by establishing a joint performance center combining the advantages of a comprehensive university with the scientific expertise of our Fraunhofer institutes.

We are also transcending national borders:

One of our many strengths is our location on the Upper Rhine plain: The University of Freiburg is rooted firmly in the heart of Europe, and we want to transform the “three-country corner” on the Rhine into a breeding ground for European innovation with strong regional partners.

One hundred years after the beginning of the First World War, which had especially devastating effects on this region, we want to create a “European Campus” together with our French and Swiss partner universities in the confederation EUCOR. This means that we will initiate joint professorships, joint degree programs, and joint research projects, because science, teaching, and research can and should not be held back by the constraints of national borders. Our vision is to create a “zone franche” on the Upper Rhine, a free trade area for research, with the European Campus as a concrete legal entity. That is my goal, and it is our common goal.

You too, dear alumni, have helped give our students more freedom with your support for the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship program. Thank you very much for your great dedication to this cause. Your many donations to the booster association Alumni Freiburg e. V. and our alumni endowment enabled us to raise 73,800 € for the program in the past year. Since the federal government agrees to match each of these donations, we were able to provide nearly half of the 90 scholarships awarded in the academic year 2014/15 with your help alone. We hope to build on this success story, and I would thus be delighted if you would continue to show your support for our students with your generous donations to this program in the coming year. Believe me: this investment in our young generation is worth it for everyone!

I wish you all a peaceful holiday season and a happy and successful new year 2015!