On 6 June 2025, the presidents and rectors of the Hanse University Alliance (HUA) met for their General Assembly – which was held at the University of Hamburg this time. The focus was on key topics for the future: sustainability, the strategic development of the alliance, and cooperation with the North German Science Ministers’ Conference.
Bereits am Vorabend der Sitzung hatte die Universität Hamburg zu einem besonderen Auftakt eingeladen: Zu einer Führung im Hamburger Exzellenzcluster Understanding Written Artefacts.
This gave participants fascinating insights into a field of research that exemplifies the connection between the humanities and natural sciences and illustrates how productive transdisciplinary research can be.
After a welcome by University President Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren, Prof. Dr. Konrad Hirschler, Director of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), presented the development and profile of the cluster. The doctoral projects of two doctoral students – Stefano Farinella and Malgorzata Grzelec – illustrated the innovative concept of the cluster. A tour of the Mobile Lab completed the visit.
The General Meeting itself brought an intense exchange of ideas: the focus topic of sustainability generated engaging discussions, thanks to the valuable input from Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons and Prof. Dr. Harald Heinrichs, among others. Furthermore, the members discussed the latest developments and future strategic steps with representatives from the working groups on research, quality assurance, data monitoring, evaluation, and equality and diversity.
The meeting clearly showed that HUA is growing closer and is currently setting an important course for the future.
A big thank you to the University of Hamburg for its inspiring hospitality!
