Excellence Initiatives

The aims of the Excellence Initiative are the sustainable consolidation of the research location Germany and the improvement of its international competiveness. The funding of university cutting-edge research in the framework of the Excellence Initiative should support the development of beacons of science in Germany, which shall also be internationally visible. The first Excellence Initiative call was published in 2005, the second one in 2009. The competition is conducted by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Science Council.

Clusters of Excellence

Clusters of excellence will enable the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin to establish internationally visible, competitive research and training facilities, thereby enhancing scientific networking and cooperation among the participating institutions.

Graduate Schools

The Graduate schools of the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin play a key role not only in developing internationally competitive centres of top-level research and scientific excellence in Germany but also in increasing their recognition and prestige. They serve as an instrument of quality assurance in promoting young researchers and are based on the principle of training outstanding doctoral students within an excellent research environment.

Current projects of Excellence Initiative

Project Title	Speaker/Project leader at the Charité	Funding source (funding type)	Current funding Charité in thousands of EUROS	Funding period (extension option)	Responsible Institution
NeuroCure NeuroCure Towards a better outcome of neurological disorders (CCM)	Prof. Dr. Schmitz (Sprecher)	DFG (Exzellenzcluster 257)	insg. 33.860,2	11/2007 - 10/2012	Charité
Berlin-Brandenburg School for Regenerative Therapies(CVK)	Prof. Dr. Duda (Sprecher)	DFG (Graduiertenschule 203)	insg. 5.633	11/2007 - 10/2012	Charité
Languages of Emotion	Prof. Dr. Heuser | Prof. Dr. Bajbouj | Dr. Merkl | Dr. Röpke	DFG (Exzellenzcluster 302)	insg. 1.007	04/2008 - 12/2012	FU Berlin
Berlin School of Mind and Brain	Prof. Dr. Villringer (Max-Planck-Institut f.Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften)	DFG (Graduiertenschule 86)	1.300 (in 2010)	11/2006 - 10/2011	HU Berlin