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For more than sixty years, scientists of Universität Hamburg and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) have been collaborating in numerous research fields. With their strategic “Partnership for Innovation, Education and Research” (PIER) the two institutions entered a new level of cooperation.
PIER focuses on four research fields that are of particular importance for both DESY and Universität Hamburg on the science campus Bahrenfeld: particle and astroparticle physics, nanoscience, photon science and infection and structural biology. Additional interdisciplinary competence areas are theoretical physics and accelerator research. Under the umbrella of PIER, DESY and Universität Hamburg jointly provide funding for cross-institutional research projects, promote high-quality education of junior scientists, and foster an innovation-friendly culture on campus.
Partnership for Innovation, Education and Research
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Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) is one of the world’s leading accelerator centres. Researchers use the large-scale facilities at DESY to explore the microcosm in all its variety – from the interactions of tiny elementary particles and the behaviour of new types of nanomaterials to biomolecular processes that are essential to life.
As one of Germany’s largest research and educational institutions, Universität Hamburg combines a diverse curriculum with excellent research. The University was extraordinarily successful in the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments, a competition for top-level university research funding. Four clusters of excellence were granted funding, and Universität Hamburg was granted the status of a University of Excellence for its role as a flagship university.
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A perfect place for growing knowlegde, ideas and interdisciplinary exchange
The science campus Bahrenfeld with its world-class research facilities is where all PIER activities take place. Among them are DESY’s extremely brilliant X-ray synchrotron radiation source PETRA III (which, in the very near future, will be expanded into the ultimate 3D X-ray microscope for nanoresearch, PETRA IV), the free-electron laser FLASH or the world’s most powerful X-ray free-electron laser European XFEL.
The campus will be the nucleus of Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld – one of Hamburg’s most ambitious urban planning projects. The aim is to boost Hamburg as a hub for science by offering researchers a creative and sustainable space to learn, teach, research, innovate, live, and work. Key pillars are the further expansion of DESY and Universität Hamburg research facilities as well as the permanent establishment of the university's physics, chemistry and biology departments on campus. In this environment innovative startups and new technologies can thrive in close proximity to science.
Apart from its excellence in science, Hamburg is an attractive destination also in other respects. Located between the North and Baltic seas on the banks of the river Elbe, Hamburg is Germany’s biggest port city. Due to its long-standing tradition as a hub for global trade routes, Hamburg is a cosmopolitan, diverse and extremely liveable city with much to offer to its citizens and visitors.
